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Benin’s government has confirmed that 54 soldiers were killed in a devastating attack by suspected jihadists in the north of the country last week—significantly revising an earlier toll of just eight.
The assault, near the borders with Burkina Faso and Niger, is now the deadliest jihadist attack in Benin since insurgent activity began creeping into the region at the start of the decade.
The al-Qaeda-linked group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM), which is based in Mali, has claimed responsibility for the attack. Intelligence monitoring group SITE reported that JNIM said it had killed 70 soldiers during coordinated raids on two military posts.
This sharp escalation underscores the growing reach of jihadist groups operating across the Sahel region, where nations like Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have long struggled to contain the insurgency. In recent years, violence has begun to spill southward, with Benin and Togo increasingly in the crosshairs of militant groups affiliated with both al-Qaeda and Islamic State.
“Heavy losses for the nation,” wrote presidential spokesman Serge Nonvignon in a Facebook post on Wednesday.
Another government spokesperson, Wilfried Léandre Houngbédji, expressed defiance in the face of the tragedy:
“We won’t give in. I can assure you that sooner or later—sooner or later—we will win.”
The government’s new casualty figure not only highlights the scale of the threat facing West African coastal states but also raises serious questions about Benin’s security preparedness and transparency in crisis response.
