A security source told AFP on Thursday that an attack in northern Benin claimed the lives of 28 troops, as the number of attacks attributed to jihadists from nearby nations rises.
The strike happened Wednesday night close to the border with insurgency-affected Burkina Faso and Niger, according to the high-ranking source.
In recent years, there has been a surge in attacks in northern Benin, with officials blaming members of neighboring Al-Qaeda and Islamic State groups.
“We are still working on cleanup. So far, forty attackers have been eliminated, according to the military source.
Most of the violence has been in the Burkina Faso border region.
Three soldiers who were defending an oil pipeline in northeastern Benin were killed and four others were wounded by gunmen in December.
Seven Beninese soldiers were killed in an attack at the Pendjari National Park, which is located on the Burkina Faso border, in June.
In April 2023, Beninese authorities, who don’t usually comment on attacks, said that there had been roughly 20 cross-border incursions since 2021.
121 Beninese military personnel were slain between 2021 and December 2024, a diplomatic source told AFP.
‘Intensifying’
According to the diplomatic source earlier this week, “it is evident that the threat is growing at the moment; the worse things get in Niger and Burkina Faso, the more difficult things get for Benin.”
The Beninese army was still “under construction,” the insider continued, and it was difficult to train its soldiers while it was still in existence.
According to the source, “there are results, (the Beninese army) can kill terrorists but do not want to communicate about it so it is not always visible -— especially so not to inform the jihadists of their strategy and because it is anxiety-inducing.”
In January 2022, as part of Operation Mirador, Benin sent out around 3,000 troops to guard its borders.
Additionally, 5,000 more people were hired by the nation’s authorities to strengthen security in the north.
In November, the United States provided $6.6 million worth of defense equipment and armored vehicles to Benin, while earlier this year, the European Union committed 47 million euros ($49 million) in anti-terror support for the nation.
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“A valuable support for the armed forces in their defense missions” is how Beninese Defense Minister Fortunet Alain Nouatin described Washington’s help at the time.
In recent years, there have also been jihadist attacks in neighboring Ghana and Togo.
