Benin says Al Qaeda affiliate attack killed 54 soldiers last week, not 70

Benin's government says 54 soldiers were killed in an attack in the country's north last week, providing a lower toll than reported by Al Qaeda affiliate JNIM.

The West African state and its coastal neighbour Togo have seen a rise in jihadist activity in recent years, as groups linked to Islamic State and al Qaeda have spread from the Sahel region into northern areas.

"Heavy losses for the nation," wrote Serge Nonvignon, a presidential spokesman, in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

Al Qaeda affiliate JNIM said it killed 70 soldiers in raids on two military posts in north Benin, the SITE Intelligence Group said on Saturday.

The Sahel insurgency took root after a Tuareg rebellion in north Mali in 2012 and spread into neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger before reaching the north of coastal West African countries such as Benin more recently.

Thousands have been killed and millions displaced by the conflict, which contributed to spurring five military coups in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger between 2020 and 2023