Nigeria Sends Soldiers, Jets Into Benin to Stop Coup Attempt

Nigeria’s military sent fighter jets and ground forces into neighboring Benin to support President Patrice Talon, after a group of soldiers attempted to seize control of the tiny West African nation. The Nigerian Air Force helped dislodge the “coup plotters” from Benin’s national TV station and a military camp, President Bola Tinubu’s office said in a statement late on Sunday. Soldiers have been deployed for “missions approved” by Benin’s government, it said. The Economic Community of West African States, a regional economic bloc, also sent its standby force to Benin — including troops from Ghana, Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone — to help support the security forces defending the country, according to a separate statement. The response by neighboring states contrasts with Ecowas’s recent inaction in a region that’s been beset by coups over the past five years, including in Guinea-Bissau last month. Had it succeeded, the takeover would have been the 10th putsch in the region since 2020, adding to a wave of military power grabs stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea. Read More: Expanding Coup Belt Shows Up Regional Paper...