Troops in Benin Republic clashed with armed men believed to be terrorists near the country’s northern border with Burkina Faso leaving four attackers dead, the army said.
The Gulf of Guinea states Benin, Togo, Ghana, and Ivory Coast are facing a growing threat from insurgents across their northern borders.
The army said a dozen of armed men attacked a military post early Friday in Kaobagou near the border, but troops resisted and pushed them back in a counter-offensive.
“After fleeing, the enemy left behind four bodies, and a large amount of weapons and ammunition,” the army’s statement said.
The axis is has also witnessed a rise in smuggling gangs and cross-border crimes. Benin forces say they have faced more than 20 invasions since 2021 while neighbouring Togo has suffered at least five attacks within the same time.
The insurgency which started in Mali in 2012 has since spread to Burkina Faso and Niger.
The affected states met in Ghana’s capital Accra earlier this week to deliberate on strengthening cooperation with European partners to contain the spillover from conflicts in Burkina Faso and Niger Republic.
Thousands of people have been killed across the Sahel and more than two million persons have been displaced with devastating destruction inflicted on hapless members of mostly agrarian or trading communities.