Benin says al-Qaida affiliate attack killed 54 soldiers last week

PHOTO CAPTION: A Benin service member covers his sector of fire during squad movement training in Ouassa, Benin, March 08, 2022. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Jael Laborn via DVIDS)

COTONOU (Reuters) -     Benin's government said that 54 soldiers were killed in an attack in the country's north last week, providing a lower toll than reported by Al Qaeda affiliate JNIM.

The West African state and its coastal neighbour Togo have seen a rise in jihadist activity in recent years, as groups linked to Islamic State and al Qaeda have spread from the Sahel region into northern areas.

"Heavy losses for the nation," wrote Serge Nonvignon, a presidential spokesman, in a Facebook post on Wednesday. 

Al Qaeda affiliate JNIM said it killed 70 soldiers in raids on two military posts in north Benin, the SITE Intelligence Group said on Saturday.

The Sahel insurgency took root after a Tuareg rebellion in north Mali in 2012 and spread into neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger before reaching the north of coastal West African countries such as Benin more recently.

Thousands have been killed and millions displaced by the conflict, which contributed to spurring five military coups in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger between 2020 and 2023.

 (Reporting by Pulcherie Adjoha; Writing by Jessica Donati; Editing by Alex Richardson)