Beninese authorities have launched a nationwide manhunt for Lt. Col. Pascal Tigri, identified as the ringleader of Sunday’s failed coup attempt.
Tigri has been declared wanted alongside two other fugitives, Capt. Ousmane Samary and Capt.-Major Sambieni Castro, who allegedly played key roles in the plot to topple President Patrice Talon.
The attempted coup erupted early Sunday when Tigri led a group of mutinous soldiers to storm a state-owned television station.
The armed group briefly seized the facility and broadcast a message claiming they had dissolved the government and suspended the constitution.
Introducing himself as the head of a self-styled “Military Committee for Refoundation,” Tigri declared that the country’s leadership had been removed.
Before the broadcast, the renegade soldiers reportedly launched an attack on the presidential residence in Cotonou.
However, security forces loyal to President Talon swiftly repelled the assault, reclaimed the state broadcaster, and secured other strategic government installations.
While several of the coup participants were arrested, Tigri, Samary, and Castro managed to flee the scene and evade immediate capture.
Benin’s government has since called for their arrest, issuing alerts across all security agencies
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