Beninese Soldiers Killed in Deadly Border Terror Attack

Several Beninese soldiers lose their lives in a brutal terror attack along the country’s border, heightening security concerns and raising questions about regional stability.

According to a statement made on Thursday by Colonel Faizou Gomina, the chief of Benin’s National Guard, the country’s army has experienced significant casualties due to a terrorist attack at a location near its border with Burkina Faso and Niger.

Colonel Gomina stated that the event in the northern Alibori department on Wednesday “dealt a very heavy blow” to the West African nation.

“The position that was targeted,” reported Gomina, “was among the strongest and most heavily fortified.” He urged the army to “wake up.”

“We have battles to win,” he declared.

Although Col. Gomina did not release an official death toll, The Democrats— the country’s main opposition party—informed Reuters that approximately 30 soldiers had been killed. AFP also quoted a security source who reported that 28 Beninese forces lost their lives in the assault.

“We are continuing with the clean-up operations. So far, forty assailants have been neutralized,” an unnamed military source informed AFP.

In recent years, this country of 13.7 million people has faced attacks in its northern region due to the increasing spillover of jihadist conflicts from neighboring Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. These countries have experienced extremist violence for over a decade. According to a diplomatic source cited by AFP, at least 121 Beninese military officers lost their lives between 2021 and December 2024.

In 2022, the nation that was once a French colony dispatched almost 3,000 soldiers to address cross-border attacks and bolster security in its northern region. Nevertheless, in December of that year, militants allegedly killed three soldiers stationed at an oil pipeline in the northeast. This incident followed a previous assault on a national park near the Burkina Faso border back in June.

Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have terminated their defense alliances with previous partners like France and the US. They claim these nations failed to resolve the persistent violence during a ten-year military mission in the Sahel region. Additionally, these three former French colonies have accused Ukraine of backing terrorism in the area after reports emerged that Ukrainian officials allegedly supplied intelligence to rebels. This information purportedly facilitated an ambush in late July resulting in numerous deaths among Malian soldiers and Russian Wagner Group contractors.

In the previous month, General Abdourahamane Tchiani, Niger’s transitional leader, alleged that Paris was trying to destabilize his nation and the Sahel region by financing terrorist organizations located in Nigeria and Benin. The Nigerian government has refuted these claims.