Two African leaders resumed mediation talks in the capital of Burkina Faso on Saturday, three days after a coup that reignited violence in the troubled Sahel state.

Tensions remained high in Ouagadougou, where most shops remained shuttered after a confrontation on Friday between elite troops and protesters.

Benin's President Thomas Boni Yayi announced he will send 800 troops to join a new multinational force tasked with fighting Boko Haram militants after meeting with his Nigerian counterpart Muhammadu Buhari Saturday.

Buhari, who was sworn in on May 29, is facing a particularly deadly surge of Islamist violence at home, with more than 800 people killed in north-eastern Nigeria in the last two months.

A female suicide bomber travelling on a tricycle blew herself up Friday at a market in the northeast Nigerian city of Maiduguri, witnesses said, as Nigeria and its neighbors finalize a force to combat Boko Haram jihadists.

"There had been a suicide attack on Gamboru market this morning. It was a female suicide bomber. The attack happened around 6:30 am (0530 GMT) as the grocers were arriving in the market which starts early," said Babakura Kolo, a vigilante helping the Nigerian army combat Boko Haram jihadists in the region.

Benin went to the polls Sunday in legislative elections seen as a key test for President Thomas Boni Yayi, whom the opposition accuses of planning to try to cling to power after his second term ends next year.

About 4.4 million voters are eligible to cast their ballots to pick 83 lawmakers.

Cameroon's army says it has killed 86 Boko Haram militants and detained 1,000 people suspected of links to the Islamist group, as central African leaders held talks on how to combat its bloody insurgency.

Five Cameroonian soldiers were also killed during the clashes in the Waza region near the border with Nigeria, defense ministry spokesman Didier Badjeck said Monday.

Eight people have died in the west African nation of Benin from an outbreak of Lassa fever, while 170 others have been placed under observation, officials said Thursday.

Fourteen suspected cases of the virus have been identified, with two confirmed and eight deaths in the small country bordering Nigeria, said a joint statement from the WHO, Benin's health ministry and UNICEF.

Nigeria and its regional allies on Wednesday called for greater international support to shut down Boko Haram's weapons and funding supply as concern mounted at the group's rapid recent land grab.

The call came after conflicting reports that the militants had seized another town, prompting warnings that Nigeria was losing control of the northeast and violence could spill across borders.

Tests on two patients in the west African country of Benin have proved negative for Ebola, the country's health minister said on Monday.

"The samples that were sent to a specialist hospital in Lagos came back negative," Dorothee Akoko Kinde-Gazard told reporters.

Benin on Saturday said it hoped the arrival of the Central African Republic's embattled former president would help restore calm to the troubled nation, after he quit under pressure from regional leaders.

Michel Djotodia, who resigned with his prime minister Nicolas Tiangaye, touched down in Cotonou at 5:05 pm local time (1605 GMT) on a flight from the Chadian capital, N'Djamena.

Benin authorities said Monday a cotton magnate already wanted over an alleged attempt to poison President Thomas Boni Yayi was also linked to a coup plot that has led to the arrests of two people.

Patrice Talon, a former Yayi ally, has been accused of being one of the suspects behind a plot to overthrow the head of state that authorities alleged on Sunday in the West African nation.