In recent years, the north of Benin has been regularly raided by jihadist insurgent.
On Wednesday, Beninese government spokesman Wilfried Leandre Houngbedji announced the opening of an investigation into the latest attack that left a dozen people dead in a village in the northern town of Kerou, about 600 km from the national capital Cotonou.
Mr. Houngbedji did not give any assessment of the attack, but according to the Beninese press, 13 villagers were slaughtered in cold blood by armed men on Monday night.
“This tragedy was avoidable. Reports indicate that there was certainly a failure in the chain of operations for the defense and security forces to deploy preventively to avoid this,” the government spokesman said.
According to Mr. Houngbedji, President Patrice Talon has requested the opening of an investigation to clarify the circumstances of the attack.
Wilfried Leandre Houngbedji, who is also the deputy permanent secretary of the Beninese government, said that after the probe, sanctions will be taken against the top brass of the defense and security forces who “failed in their duty.”
Since 2021, the military has been deployed in parts of northern Benin to fight insurgent groups. This war has already resulted in several casualties within the defense and security forces.
To deal with this growing threat, Benin has recalled its soldiers deployed in Mali as part of the UN peacekeeping mission (MINUSMA).
The Beninese authorities have also strengthened their security cooperation with Rwanda, whose president recently visited Cotonou as part of his West Africa tour.
RK/ac/fss/as/APA