Nigeria Senate Approves Troops for Benin After Coup

Nigeria's Senate unanimously approved the deployment of troops to Benin on Tuesday, following an attempted military coup in the neighboring West African nation that was thwarted with Nigerian airstrikes. The action comes amid a broader regional crisis, as the Economic Community of West African States declared a state of emergency across West Africa due to escalating political instability and security threats.

The coup attempt unfolded on Sunday in Benin, when a group of mutinous soldiers seized the national television station in Cotonou, declaring the ouster of President Patrice Talon and the suspension of the constitution. The soldiers, who identified themselves as the Military Committee for Refoundation, targeted senior military officials, including Talon's chief of staff, and briefly kidnapped two others before their release the following day. Clashes erupted as the plotters attempted to storm the president's residence, leading to casualties among both the mutineers and the Republican Guard. Benin's government reported that loyal forces quickly regained control, arresting several suspects, including about 13 soldiers, while declaring Colonel Pascal Tigri, the apparent...