Over 50 Soldiers Killed in Benin, Catholic Bishops Express Solidarity with Bereaved Families

According to a report by Agenzia Fides published on Wednesday, May 28, the CEB members commemorated the 54 soldiers killed in two attacks by an Islamist terrorist group on April 17 in the North of the country.

The Catholic Bishops, Agenzia Fides reports, also remembered the soldiers who continue their mission against terrorism in northern Benin.

According to Propaganda Fides’ information service, the attack on April 17, the bloodiest since the beginning of Islamist attacks in 2019, “shocked the people of Benin.”

About 100 fighters belonging to the "Group for the Support for Islam and Muslims" (JNIM) on motorcycles reportedly simultaneously attacked two army outposts, one located in the so-called "tri-border area" (where the borders of Benin, Niger, and Burkina Faso converge), and the other stationed near the Koudou Falls, not far from the town of Banikoara.

According to the Agenzia Fides report, an Islamist attack near Karimama, in the same region, killed about 30 soldiers on January 8.

The news agency reports that the tri-border area merging Benin, Nigeria and Burkina Faso has become an unsafe zone due to the presence of Islamist groups, which often collaborate with fuel traders in neighbouring Nigeria.

Agenzia Fides reports that the presence of Islamist groups is also jeopardizing the conservation of the area's biodiversity and threatens tourism, which according to the news agency, plays a vital role in the local economy.