DakarcTypeface:> Benin’s government has confirmed that 54 soldiers were killed in an attack by Islamist militias in the northern border region, near troubled areas of Burkina Faso and Niger.
The attack occurred on April 17. Government spokesman Wilfried Léandre Houngbédji provided a revised casualty toll after authorities initially said only a small number of soldiers had died. This attack marks another deadly chapter for Benin, a West African country of approximately 14 million people. In January, Benin suffered an assault in which around 30 soldiers were killed.
A West African al-Qaeda affiliate called the Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) claimed responsibility for the attack. (DPA)
