APA – Cotonou (Benin) – The ‘Institut d’Etudes et de Securite’ (Institute for Security Studies,) has been investigating the phenomenon in the four departments of northern Benin, and unveiled the results of its investigations on Wednesday in Cotonou.
The jihadist groups attacking northern Benin are benefiting from the complicity of trafficking networks that have been operating in this part of the country for many years. This is revealed in a report by the Institute for Security Studies (IES).
According to the report, there is currently no evidence to prove that Beninese are directly involved in terrorist attacks. Instead, the document stresses that there are alliances of interest between members of jihadist groups and local actors involved in illicit activities. According to Jeannine Ella Abatan, a researcher at the IES West Africa office, the study revealed, for example, collaboration between violent extremist groups and fuel traffickers in the disputed Kourou-Koalou area on the border between Benin and Burkina Faso. “These groups offer the people involved in this trafficking security guarantees so that the trafficking can continue. In return, the fuel traffickers pay a financial consideration and also provide the terrorist groups with fuel, which is a strategic resource for their mobility,” Jeannine Ella Abatan explains.
The report also cites as an example the links between jihadist groups and hunters who are no longer able to carry out their activities around the Penjari and W wildlife parks on the border with Burkina Faso and Niger. The government’s decision to improve the management of these protected areas is not helping these hunters. In its investigations, the IES discovered that the hunters are also cooperating with violent extremist groups. They take advantage of the instability caused by the attacks to engage in illegal hunting.
According to the report, the insecurity in northern Benin also benefits Indian hemp traffickers, whose illicit activity is encouraged and guaranteed by terrorist groups.
The very first attack in northern Benin occurred in May 2019. At the time, French tourists and their Beninese guide were kidnapped in the Penjari Park. However, IES investigations have revealed that since 2012 there have been links between illicit activities in northern Benin and violent extremism in the Sahel.
EIS, ISWAP and GSIM, the main groups targeting northern Benin
The study by the ‘Institut d’Etudes de Securite’ also revealed the identity of the groups that are making life hard for people in northern Benin. These are the Islamic State in the Sahel (formerly EIGS) and the Groupe de Soutien à l’Islam et aux Musulmans (GSIM). The study also found that jihadists from Nigeria are present in northern Benin. They are said to be affiliated to the Islamic State in West Africa (Iswap), made up of defectors from the Nigerian group Boko Haram, operating in the north-east and north-west of Nigeria, whose states of Niger and Kebbi border Benin.
A disturbing tendency to now attack civilians
The survey noted that violent extremist groups active in Benin initially targeted the defense and security forces, but are now attacking villages. According to Jeannine Ella Abatan, towards the end of 2021 they switched to the use of improvised explosive devices, and since the end of 2022 there have been attacks on villages, with civilian casualties. “These attacks are also displacing people. This is a worrying trend that needs to be kept in mind in the responses provided to ensure the protection of people and their property in these at-risk regions, where there are also refugees from neighboring countries, particularly Burkina Faso,” recommends the researcher, who maintains, however, that the number of attacks has nevertheless fallen in recent months.
To carry out the survey, the Institute for Security Studies conducted interviews in the departments of Alibori, Borgou, Atacora and Donga, the four departments in the north of Benin. The report states that people who had collaborated with the jihadist groups were interviewed. Defense and security forces personnel and those involved in developing strategies to combat the scourge also answered questions from the Institute for Security Studies.
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