Two soldiers were killed in the early hours of yesterday morning in a jihadist attack in northern Benin, on the border with Burkina Faso, a rarity in the West African country, sources close to the armed forces told AFP.
“Jihadists attacked, in response to the death of one of their own, Benin’s soldiers on the night of 1 to 2 December in the Porga district of Atacora prefecture,” said a source close to the general staff.
“We lost two men. “We also have wounded soldiers receiving medical treatment,” he said.
Another officer gave the same report.
Earlier in the day, jihadists attacked a Benin army base in the neighboring Alibori prefecture, where “a jihadist was killed by our forces,” said Col. Fruqtou Gbagidi, the army’s chief of staff. possession of the French Agency.
In a statement broadcast on public television last night, Colonel Didier Ahuanvedo, a spokesman for the army, said the attack was carried out by “unknown individuals”, avoiding using the term “jihadists”. He confirmed the deaths of two soldiers and two “attackers”.
Until yesterday, only one jihadist attack had been announced in Benin: in May 2019, two French tourists were abducted by criminals in Pentzari Park, in the north, before being sold to a jihadist organization in neighboring Burkina Faso. Their driver was killed.
In February, five or six gunmen attacked a police post in an isolated village near the border with Burkina Faso. One man had been killed. However, the authorities had then spoken of “poachers”.
There have been no official attacks by jihadist groups in Benin to carry out attacks, but there are examples that show that the distinction between “poachers”, “criminals” and “jihadists” is rather fabricated.
According to a report released in June by the Dutch research institute Clingendael, extremist organizations “are not permanently present in northern Benin”, but some “regularly pass through the three northern regions” of Alibori, Borgo and Atacora, which are adjacent to Niger, Burkina Faso and Nigeria.
All three countries have long been the scene of jihadist attacks involving inter-tribal clashes. Thousands of people have been killed or displaced.
The countries of the Gulf of Guinea, from Senegal to Benin, passing through Togo and Cλεte d’Ivoire, are concerned about the risk of Sahel violence spreading to their territories. Senegal recently called on China, Africa’s main trading partner, to do more to address “Sahel insecurity.”
A target of sporadic attacks for the past two years, C Εte d’Ivoire is in favor of enhanced cooperation with their neighbors to counter the threat.
In mid-November, the chiefs of staff of the Economic Community of West African States pledged to step up co-operation in the fight against jihad.
Dozens of “terrorists” were killed between November 21 and 27, some “300 suspects were arrested” and several jihadist bases were destroyed in a joint operation by the Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Togo militias, according to the minister. Burkina Faso, Maxime Kone
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