Last week, an assault by Islamic militants on military installations in northern Benin resulted in the deaths of at least 54 soldiers, according to the government of the West African nation. Initially, authorities reported that only eight soldiers had died in the incident on April 17.
The extremist group JNIM, affiliated with al-Qaida, claimed responsibility for the attack, asserting that it had killed 70 soldiers, as reported by the SITE Intelligence Group.
The assaults occurred in the Alibori department of northeastern Benin, which shares borders with Burkina Faso, Niger, and Nigeria. For years, Benin has experienced spillover violence from neighboring Sahel countries like Burkina Faso and Niger, which are engaged in a struggle against Islamic extremist factions.
The tri-border region has historically been a hotspot for extremist activity, particularly around the W-Arly-Pendjari Complex. This expansive national park extends into all three nations and has become a base for cross-border militant attacks.
On Wednesday, government spokesperson Wilfried Léandre Houngbédji expressed concern over the insufficient collaboration with Benin’s neighbors in combating extremist groups.
He noted, ‘The locations of the attacks on April 17 are near the border, so it is clear that if there were a force like ours on the other side, these attacks would either not happen in this manner or would not occur at all.’
