Benin forces suffered heavy casualties in the attack near the border with insurgency-hit Niger and Burkina Faso, authorities said.
Colonel Faizou Gomina, chief of staff of the National Guard, said one of Benin’s most well-equipped military posts was hit in the north on Wednesday night.
“We were dealt a very heavy blow,” added Colonel Gomina.
The country has witnessed an increase in attacks in the northern region in recent years, blamed on jihadist groups based in neighboring countries.
More than 120 Benin military officers were killed between 2021 and December 2024, a diplomatic source told the AFP news agency.
Last month, gunmen killed three soldiers and wounded four others guarding an oil pipeline in the northeast.
Colonel Gomina did not give a death toll in Wednesday’s attack, but the main opposition party, the Democrats, said around 30 soldiers were killed in the Alibori region, Reuters news agency reported.
A security source states that the number of dead is 28, reports AFP.
“We are continuing with clearing operations. Forty attackers have been neutralized so far,” the military source added.
Colonel Gomina said the attacked position was “one of the strongest and most militarized” and called on military commanders to improve their operational strategies to counter security threats.
“Wake up, officers and department heads, we have battles to win,” he said.
In 2022, Benin deployed nearly 3,000 troops to quell cross-border incursions and bolster security in the north.
