Nigeria’s Air Force has hit targets in Benin Republic, according to the BBC.

It is believed the strikes were carried out in apparent coordination with Beninese authorities working to contain a coup attempt.

It is not clear what the targets of the strikes were.

However, the situation in Cotonou, the commercial capital of Benin Republic, remains uncertain, as huge explosions were heard in the late afternoon.

Prior to the explosions, flight-tracking data showed that three aircraft entered Benin’s airspace from neighbouring Nigeria.

Two have since returned to the Nigerian city of Lagos, and a third appears to be heading towards an airbase in Kanji in western Nigeria. At one stage, two of the aircraft were flying side by side, which analysts suggest indicates they were military planes.

At the time, a French Air Force plane was maintaining a circular pattern over Cotonou. French diplomats have denied earlier reports that Talon had taken refuge at France’s embassy in Cotonou.