New Delhi, Dec. 9 -- The short-lived coup in Benin left "casualties on both sides" of the government forces and the mutinous soldiers, authorities said Monday, as security forces intensified the search for the coup leader who was on the run.

The military takeover attempting to overthrow President Patrice Talon, which lasted a few hours before authorities announced it had been foiled, was the latest in a series of recent coups across Africa - most following a similar pattern of disputed elections, constitutional upheaval, security crises and youth discontent.

In a statement detailing Sunday's events, Government Secretary Edouard Ouin-Ouro said the mutinous soldiers attacked Talon around 5 a.m. before being "overwhelmed by the fierce resi...