Benin's government said Sunday the government had thwarted an attempted coup, just hours after a group of soldiers announced on state television that they had ousted President Patrice Talon.

Military and security sources said that around a dozen soldiers had been arrested, including those behind the coup bid.

The west Africa region has experienced a number of coups in recent years, including in Benin's northern neighbours Niger and Burkina Faso, as well as Mali, Guinea and, most recently, Guinea-Bissau.

Talon is due to hand over power in April next year after 10 years in office marked by solid economic growth but also a surge in jihadist violence.

Early on Sunday, soldiers calling themselves the "Military Committee for Refoundation" (CMR), announced on state television that they had me

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