The attack killed 28 Beni soldiers near Niger on the border with Burkina

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Twenty-eight soldiers were killed in an attack in northern Benin, a small West African country that is increasingly seeing violence attributed to jihadists from neighboring countries, a security source told AFP on Thursday.

A senior official told AFP the strike took place on Wednesday evening near the border with rebel-hit Burkina Faso and Niger.

Attacks in northern Benin have increased in recent years, with authorities accusing members of Islamic State and al-Qaeda groups from neighboring countries.

“We continue clean-up activities. Forty attackers have been neutralized so far,” a military source told AFP.

The violence mainly affected the border area with Burkina Faso.

In December, attackers killed three soldiers guarding an oil pipeline in northeastern Benin.

In June, seven Beninese soldiers were killed in an attack in Pendjari National Park on the border with Burkina Faso.

Benin authorities, whose comments on such attacks are usually sparse, reported in April 2023 about 20 cross-border incursions since 2021.

A diplomatic source told AFP that 121 Beninese soldiers were killed between 2021 and December 2024.

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