French special forces provided support to Beninese troops who put down an attempted coup at the weekend, the head of the country's republican guard told AFP on Wednesday.

Dieudonne Djimon Tevoedjre said Beninese troops were "truly valiant and faced the enemy all day", after a group of soldiers announced on state television that they had ousted President Patrice Talon early on Sunday.

"French special forces were sent from Abidjan, used for mopping up operations after the Beninese army had done the job," the commander added in a telephone interview.

On Tuesday, the French presidency said it had supported the authorities in Benin as part of a regional effort that included Nigerian air strikes against coup plotters.

An aide to President Emmanuel Macron said France provided "surveillance, o

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