COTONOU: An Al-Qaeda-linked jihadist group on Friday claimed responsibility for an attack in northern Benin near the borders with Burkina Faso and Niger that killed at least 28 troops this week.
The raid, which was the deadliest the Beninese army has suffered in years, took place late Wednesday in the border area between Benin and its insurgency-hit neighbours.
Attacks in northern Benin have increased in recent years with authorities accusing the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda groups based in neighbouring countries, including the Group to Support Islam and Muslims (JNIM).
“Our brothers the mujahideen were able to storm a Beninese army post in Oouda in Karimama province,” the JNIM said in a statement cited and translated by the US group Site Intelligence.
The jihadist group, which operates in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, claimed a death toll of more than 30 and said it had seized weapons, ammunition and a drone, according to the statement cited by Site Intelligence.
A high-ranking military official told AFP on Thursday on condition of anonymity that 28 soldiers had been killed.
Beninese authorities, who rarely comment on attacks, reported in April 2023 about 20 cross-border incursions since 2021.
Army chief Colonel Faizou Gomina in a statement late Thursday said his forces had suffered a “very heavy loss”.
Benin in January 2022 launched Operation Mirador to secure its borders amid a surge of jihadist violence in west Africa and deployed nearly 3,000 troops.
The authorities also recruited 5,000 additional personnel to reinforce security in the vulnerable north.
“The position that was attacked… was one of the strongest and most militarised of Operation Mirador,” Gomina added.
A diplomatic source told AFP this week that 121 Beninese military personnel had been killed between 2021 and December 2024.
Gunmen in December killed three Operation Mirador 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.
The United States in November sent $6.6 million worth of armoured vehicles and defence equipment to Benin, while the European Union earlier this year announced 47 million euros ($49 million) in anti-terror funding for the country.
But the latest attack proves that “equipment alone is not sufficient to win”, said Gomina.
“The operational posture and the quality of our human resources are key to defeating this threat,” he added.
Neighbouring Ghana and Togo have also suffered jihadist attacks in recent years.
