ECOWAS Deploys Troops to Benin After Failed Coup Attempt
ECOWAS deployed troops from Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Sierra Leone to Benin after a failed coup attempt, even as President Patrice Talon assured citizens in a televised address that the situation was “totally under control.” The move followed an incident when soldiers from a group calling itself the Military Committee for Refoundation briefly appeared on state TV, claiming to have removed Talon and dissolved state institutions. The government said the coup attempt was quickly foiled, with Interior Minister Alassane Seidou confirming 14 arrests and stressing that loyal armed forces regained control. Some areas around state TV and key buildings were blocked by soldiers; the rest of Cotonou remained calm, with no military presence reported at the airport. ECOWAS and the African Union condemned the attempted overthrow as unconstitutional. The incident comes as Benin, historically stable but facing rising jihadist threats, joins a region destabilised by recent coups, and analysts warned that the attempt signalled ongoing political uncertainty.
Drone Strike on Sudan Kindergarten Kills 50, Including 33 Children
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A drone attack on the town of Kalogi, in Sudan’s South Kordofan region, is said to have hit a kindergarten and killed at least 50 people, including 33 children. Sudan’s army and the Sudan Doctors’ Network have accused the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group that battles the army in the civil war, of carrying out the attack. The RSF did not comment but instead accused the army of carrying out a separate drone attack on a market and fuel depot at the Adre border crossing with Chad. Civilians continue to suffer from Sudan’s civil war, which has been ongoing since April 2023. The army-aligned foreign ministry said the kindergarten was struck twice and that civilians and medics who responded were also attacked. UNICEF condemned the Kalogi strike as a horrific violation of children’s rights and urged all parties to halt attacks and allow humanitarian access. Meanwhile, the Sudan War Monitor reported civilian casualties and major damage in the alleged attack at the Adre crossing. The conflict in the Kordofan region, a strategic frontline between Khartoum and Darfur, has intensified as the army advances toward Darfur.
Nigeria Secures Release of 100 Abducted Schoolchildren in Niger State
Nigerian authorities said they had secured the release of 100 schoolchildren kidnapped last month from St. Mary’s Catholic boarding school in Niger state. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said 315 pupils and staff were abducted by gunmen on November 21 from St. Mary’s co-educational boarding school in the north-central Niger state. Around 50 students escaped shortly after the attack. The fate of another 165 children and staff remained unknown. A UN source said that the freed children had arrived in Abuja and would be handed over to the Niger state officials. It was unclear whether the release was the result of military force or negotiations. It is also not known which group is responsible. The state government and the Christian Association of Nigeria said they had not been formally notified. Nigeria has been fighting an Islamist insurgency in the northeast of the country, while gangs of so-called “bandits” carry out abductions and ransack villages in the northwest.
Somaliland Denies Renewed Talks With Somalia
Somaliland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied reports of renewed talks with Somalia, saying that negotiations remain fully suspended. The ministry said the dialogue, halted earlier this year due to “Somalia’s blatant interference in Somaliland’s internal affairs,” has formally ceased and no official is authorised to misrepresent this. Somaliland stressed that it has never been part of Somalia’s federal system and continues to operate independently. Officials accused Mogadishu of spreading false claims and highlighted that the 13-year dialogue collapsed due to Somalia’s actions. The ministry emphasised Somaliland’s stability, unity, and sovereignty, asserting that no misleading statements would create division, even as the region’s attention grows and Somaliland expands diplomatic engagement with Gulf, African, and Western partners.
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11 Dead in South Africa Hostel Shooting
At least 11 people, including a three-year-old child, were killed and 14 others wounded in a mass shooting at an illegal shebeen in Saulsville township, west of Pretoria. Police said at least three gunmen stormed the venue at around 04:30 on Saturday and opened fire randomly on a group of people who were drinking; a 12-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl were also among the dead. No arrests had been made, and the motive remained unknown. Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said illegal and unlicensed liquor outlets were a major hotspot for mass shootings, noting that 12,000 such premises had been closed and more than 18,000 people arrested between April and September. The attack added to a series of mass shootings in South Africa, which continues to battle one of the world’s highest murder rates.
