BREAKING: Al Qaeda-Affiliated Group Claims Deadliest Attack Yet In Benin, Killing 70 Soldiers
An al Qaeda-linked jihadist group, Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM), has claimed responsibility for a deadly assault that left 70 Beninese soldiers dead in two coordinated attacks in the country’s northeast, according to a report by the SITE Intelligence Group on Saturday. This marks the highest death toll from a single jihadist operation in Benin since insurgent violence began spilling over from the Sahel.
The attacks reportedly occurred in Kandi province in the Alibori department, situated more than 500 kilometres from the capital, Cotonou. The SITE Intelligence Group, a US-based organisation that monitors jihadist activity online, cited a statement released by JNIM on Thursday confirming the coordinated assaults on two military posts.
Benin’s military authorities have not yet confirmed the claims, and army spokesperson Ebenezer Honfoga has not responded to calls or messages.
Benin and its coastal neighbour, Togo, have been experiencing an uptick in militant activity as groups affiliated with Islamic State and al Qaeda continue to extend their influence beyond the Sahel region. What began as a Tuareg rebellion in northern Mali in 2012 has now spiralled into a full-blown regional crisis, claiming thousands of lives and displacing millions across Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and now, the Gulf of Guinea nations.
The jihadist threat has triggered a wave of instability, contributing to five military coups across Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger between 2020 and 2023. In the aftermath, military juntas in those countries severed long-standing military and diplomatic ties with Western allies such as France and the United States, instead seeking Russian assistance to counter the growing threat of extremism.
As jihadist violence moves closer to the coasts of West Africa, countries like Benin face a growing security crisis that could destabilise a region previously considered relatively insulated from the Sahel’s insurgent violence.
