Al-Qaeda-linked jihadists attack military posts in Benin Republic, kill 70 soldiers

The Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an al-Qaeda affiliate in the Sahel, said it killed 70 soldiers in an attack on two military posts in northern Benin, Reuters is reporting

Citing a report from a SITE Intelligence Group, an American for-profit consultancy group tracking white supremacist and jihadist organisations, the news agency said the recent attack resulted in the biggest death count claimed by jihadists in the francophone country, which borders Nigeria.

According to the report, JNIM in its propaganda message last Thursday, said it killed the soldiers in Kandi province in the Alibori department, which is more than 500 kilometres from the capital Cotonou.

Benin’s army spokesman Ebenezer Honfoga could not be immediately reached by the news agency.

The al-Qaeda affiliate and its rival, Islamic State, have since 2024 intensified their rivalry and campaign of violence in the Sahel, reshaping the security landscape in the semi-arid region, according to a report by Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED).

Formed in 2017 as part of a merger of four pre-existing groups — Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb’s Sahara Emirate, Al-Murabitun, Ansar Dine, and Katiba Macina — JNIM has launched attacks from its Burkina Faso and Niger strongholds before expanding to Benin and Togo between 2021 and 2022.

Taking advantage of ungoverned protected areas such as the Pendjari National Park and Park W straddling Benin, Burkina Faso and Nigeria including the Kainji National Park in Nigeria, the group has succeeded in its trans-border movements and trade.

Campaign of violence in the Sahel

Violence in the Sahel has resulted in a humanitarian crisis, further destabilising the region which already suffers acute climate conditions.

On 8 January, terrorists suspected to be members of JNIM killed 28 Beninoise soldiers in an attack in the Point Triple zone, a border region connecting the country with Junta-led Burkina Faso and Niger.

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A year before, a terrorist attack killed seven Beninoise soldiers in Pendjari national park.

While the recent attack is seen as the deadliest in Benin, its neighbours have witnessed more deadly attacks.

For instance, in December 2019, a terror attack on an army base in Niger killed 71 soldiers. In less than a month, another 91 were killed in the same country.

The violence in the Sahel has also taken the dynamic of geopolitics with junta-led countries severing ties with France and turning to Russia for military assistance. Despite the alliance, terrorism in the Sahel continues unabated.