April 21, 2025 – Cotonou, Benin Republic
An al-Qaeda-affiliated jihadist group, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), has claimed responsibility for the deaths of 70 soldiers in a coordinated attack on two military posts in northern Benin Republic.
According to reports from the SITE Intelligence Group, JNIM made the claim in a propaganda message last Thursday. The attack, which reportedly occurred in Kandi province in Alibori Department — over 500 kilometers from the capital, Cotonou — is the deadliest ever recorded in the West African country by jihadist groups.
The Beninese military is yet to release an official statement on the incident, and attempts to reach Army spokesperson Ebenezer Honfoga were unsuccessful at the time of filing this report.
JNIM, a coalition of jihadist factions formed in 2017, has increased its activities across the Sahel region. Originally based in parts of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, the group has since expanded into the northern regions of Benin and Togo, taking advantage of porous borders and ungoverned protected areas such as Pendjari National Park and Park W, which straddle Benin, Burkina Faso, and Nigeria.
Security experts warn that the jihadist expansion into the Gulf of Guinea states signals a dangerous evolution of the Sahel insurgency. Data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) suggests that both JNIM and its rival, the Islamic State, have escalated their violence in the region, further straining local and regional security frameworks.
This recent assault follows a January 8 attack in the Point Triple zone — a border region linking Benin with junta-led Burkina Faso and Niger — in which 28 Beninese soldiers were reportedly killed by suspected JNIM militants.
The ongoing violence in the Sahel has triggered a worsening humanitarian crisis, displacing thousands and threatening to destabilize the wider West African region already battling food insecurity and climate-related challenges.
