Attacks in northern Benin have increased in recent years with authorities accusing members of the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda groups based in neighbouring countries
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Twenty-eight soldiers were killed in an attack in northern Benin, according to a security source on Thursday, as violence blamed on jihadists based in neighbouring countries increases.
The high-ranking official said the strike took place on Wednesday evening near the border with insurgency-hit Burkina Faso and Niger.
Attacks in northern Benin have increased in recent years with authorities accusing members of the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda groups based in neighbouring countries.
“We are continuing cleaning-up operations. Forty assailants have been neutralised so far,” the military source said.
The violence has largely struck the border area with Burkina Faso.
Gunmen in December killed three soldiers and wounded four others who were guarding an oil pipeline in northeast Benin.
In June, seven Beninese troops were killed in an attack at the Pendjari National Park on the border with Burkina Faso.
Beninese authorities, who rarely comment on attacks, reported in April 2023 about 20 cross-border incursions since 2021.
A diplomatic source told AFP that 121 Beninese military personnel had been killed between 2021 and December 2024.
‘Intensifying’
“Currently, it is clear that the threat is intensifying, the more the situation in Niger and Burkina Faso deteriorates, the harder it gets for Benin,” the diplomatic source said earlier this week.
The source added that the Beninese army was still “under construction” and faced the challenge of training its forces while remain