Military Coups and Neo-Colonial Threats in West Africa

Guinea-Bissau and Benin are latest states to experience military interventions

By Abayomi Azikiwe

Editor, Pan-African News Wire

Thursday December 18, 2025

Geopolitical Analysis

There have been two incidents which are said to have been military coups in Guinea-Bissau and yet another failed putsch in Benin. 

Both military interventions have been linked to an ongoing electoral process in Guinea-Bissau and an upcoming vote for the presidency of Benin in 2026.

In regard to Guinea-Bissau, the regional Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had condemned the military takeover and is demanding the immediate return to civilian rule inside the country. This military arrangement has been rejected by the opposition parties in Guinea-Bissau who were contesting the elections for the presidency when a change of government was announced on November 26. 

The incumbent president, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, was said to have fled Bissau in the aftermath of the announcement of a seizure of power by General Horta N’Tam the head of the presidential protection unit who announced that there was a transitional program adopted by the coup makers which would last for one year. Initially, the president went to neighboring Senegal where Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko publicly doubted the veracity of the political narrative of the ousted head-of-state.

Later it was reported that Umaro Sissoco Embalo had left Senegal for Congo-Brazzaville. Nonetheless, opposition forces in Guinea-Bissau and throughout the region have accused the authorities in the country of “staging a coup” in order to prevent the Madem G15 party administration from facing electoral defeat.

Leading up to the elections, former Prime Minister Domingos Simoes Pereira, was banned from standing for the presidential elections on behalf of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC). The PAIGC is the party of Amilcar Cabral, the political and military architect of the liberation struggle during the 1950s through the 1970s. 

The PAIGC candidate was detained after the coup along with Fernando Dias da Costa of the Party for Social Renewal. This candidate was endorsed by the PAIGC after its organization was banned. 

Several days after control of the government was taken over by what was described as the High Military Command for the Restoration of National Security and Public Order, it was reported in several news sources that the ballots from the national elections had been stolen by armed individuals. These events have raised serious questions about the character of the new government and its relationship to the former president. Guinea-Bissau for many years has been an alleged transit point for narcotics trafficking from South America into Western Europe. Obviously, the civilian government and allied military forces were committed to preventing the opposition parties from taking control of the state.

Coup Opposed by African Union (AU)

A declaration issued by the Peace and Security Council of the African Union (AU) based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia called for the resumption of what they described as democratic control in Guinea Bissau. The actions of the military rebels were in defiance of the AU charter along with that of ECOWAS.

This statement by the AU-PSC stressed that the body;

“Directs the AU Commission, in close cooperation with ECOWAS, the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) and all other international development partners to provide the requisite support to Guinea-Bissau to ensure a swift return to constitutional order, including national dialogues and reform of government institutions towards establishing national unity for peaceful resolution of the crisis in the country. Calls on the leaders of the coup to guarantee the safety and facilitate the evacuation and safe passage of all AU Election Observers and all other international election observers. Supports the strengthening of the ECOWAS Stabilization Support Mission in Guinea-Bissau to continue to protect state institutions and prevent further violence. Requests the AU Post-Conflict, Reconstruction and Development Center in Cairo in collaboration with the UN peacebuilding institutions to engage with the relevant institutions in Guinea-Bissau to provide support on development activities in order to prevent the country from further relapses into political crises.” (https://www.peaceau.org/en/article/communique-of-the-1315th-meeting-emergency-of-the-peace-and-security-council-held-on-28-november-2025-on-the-consideration-of-the-emergency-situation-in-guinea-bissau)

Yet, the government in Senegal, also a member of the AU and ECOWAS as is Guinea-Bissau, seems to be taking a more nuanced approach to the military coup. Senegal elected a new youthful government during 2024 and since that time period has been attempting to reshape its domestic and international image. 

Senegal did not join the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) which has broken military and economic ties with France. In the case of Niger, a thousand Pentagon troops were forced to leave their posts and to dismantle the drone stations operating inside the uranium-rich state in West Africa. 

In a report published by the African Press Agency (APA) it says of the Senegalese position:

“Senegal is adopting a ‘realistic and moderate’ approach to the ongoing crisis in Guinea-Bissau, even as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) maintains a firmer demand for an immediate return to constitutional order. Speaking on TFM radio on Tuesday, Senegalese Minister of African Integration and Foreign Affairs, Cheikh Niang, outlined Dakar’s strategy. While condemning the recent coup and calling for the restoration of the electoral process, Niang emphasized that Senegal is willing to work within the reality of the military’s proposed timeline.” (https://apanews.net/dakar-prioritizes-pragmatism-flexibility-in-guinea-bissau-crisis/)

In taking what appears to be contradictory positions on the Guinea-Bissau political crisis does not bode well for the imperatives of developing a coherent path from military to civilian rule in West Africa. Although the ideal enunciated by the AU and ECOWAS often evokes the upholding of democratic processes, in many cases those administrations which are elected violate their own constitutions and democratic norms to remain in power. 

Benin Coup Reversed with Nigeria, ECOWAS and French Assistance

On Sunday December 7, there was an attempted coup in the Republic of Benin. The military intervention was announced by the coup makers over national television.

This coup was led by a high-ranking military officer Lt.-Col. Pascal Tigri of the protection forces close to President Patrice Talon. After going on national television to announce the coup, Nigerian Air Force jets carried out strikes against the positions of the coup makers as well as a leading military base near the commercial center of Cotonou. 

There were also reports of the involvement of Ivory Coast and French special forces in the operation which reimposed President Talon. This military action was carried out under the rubric of the ECOWAS Standby Forces. The plan which was enacted in Benin was similar to what had been projected after the CNSP Revolution in neighboring Niger during July-August 2023. 

During that period, the Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, the then chair of ECOWAS, was not able to gain consensus from his ruling party, the All-Progressives Congress (APC) which controlled the Senate. Other political forces were mobilized against a prospective ECOWAS intervention inside of Nigeria and other regional states.

However, during the immediate aftermath of the seizure of power by Lt.-Col. Tigri, it appears as if no public discussions were held over the veracity of a military operation to reinstall Talon with the assistance of other ECOWAS states along with the former colonial power of France, which has come under severe criticism in recent years. ECOWAS within its charter does have provisions for the restoration of civilian governments within its member-states. This has been done in past decades in Gambia, Sierra Leone and Liberia. 

The Communist Party of Benin (PCB) issued a statement after the attempted coup which denounced the military usurpation of political power while questioning the intervention of Nigeria, the ECOWAS forces which bolstered the French military troops already occupying the country. This opposition party pointed to the conditions inside Benin which underline the discontent among elements within the military.

An article published by Sahara Reports says of the position of the PCB:

“The PCB sharply criticized the reported involvement of French forces and Nigerian military assets in neutralizing the coup attempt. Citing unverified information, the party claimed that French President, Emmanuel Macron, requested Nigerian President Bola Tinubu to intervene under the banner of ECOWAS, with Nigerian fighter jets supporting French troops on the ground. The party alleged that additional Nigerian ground forces entered through the Sèmè border to reinforce the operation. ‘This event is extremely serious. It is an insult and humiliation to the political and military institutions of our country, the PCB said. It represents the placement of our country under supervision, a pure and simple transformation of Benin into a French colony. The PCB reiterated its longstanding stance that Benin’s internal issues should be resolved domestically without foreign interference.’” (https://saharareporters.com/2025/12/08/coup-plot-communist-party-benin-condemns-nigeria-frances-military-intervention-blames)

These instances of military interventions must be analyzed from an anti-imperialist and proletarian internationalist perspective related to the character of both the civilian and defense interests within these respective states. The Alliance of Sahel States (AES) consisting of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger is led by military administrations. 

Yet, these governments have signed the Liptako-Gourma Charter which units the three states economically, politically and militarily. Whether African governments are purportedly civilian, military or a combination of both, the focus should be on building genuine independence through the empowerment of the workers, farmers and youth.