BENIN is facing a surge in jihadist attacks in its northern border region as diplomatic tensions with neighbouring junta-led Niger and Burkina Faso create a dangerous security vacuum, analysts have told AFP.
The crisis erupted into sharp focus following an April 17 assault that left 54 Beninese soldiers dead, the worst loss of life in a single incident acknowledged by officials. The attack, near the W National Park, was claimed by Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), which said it had killed 70 troops.
Benin’s government has blamed the violence on spillover from neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso, whose ruling military juntas came to power through coups, promising to end the region’s long-running jihadist insurgencies.
‘If on the other side of the border there were security arrangements at the very least like ours, these attacks would not take place in this way or even happen at all,’ a Beninese official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Sahel now world epicentre of terrorism
According to the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) published in March, half of the world’s terrorist-related deaths in 2024 occurred in the Sahel region. Burkina Faso topped the index for the second year in a row, ahead of Pakistan and Syria. Niger ranked fifth, just behind Mali — another military-led Sahel neighbour.
Experts say the growing presence of jihadist groups in southern Burkina Faso and Niger, coupled with limited border control, has enabled extremist factions to infiltrate northern Benin with relative ease.
‘Jihadist groups have been able to create cells in territories like north Benin due to weak collaboration across borders,’ said Beverly Ochieng, an analyst at Control Risks. ‘The limited capacity of Sahel armed forces and the fractured regional alliances have created ideal conditions for militants.’
Yet regional cooperation remains elusive. The military regimes in Burkina Faso and Niger have accused Benin of hosting Western military bases — allegations Benin denies. This mistrust has stalled any meaningful joint security operations.
‘If Benin goes it alone and there is no response from the other side, it will remain in a state of crisis, with terrorist groups having found an El Dorado on its borders,’ warned Emmanuel Odilon Koukoubou, a political scientist at the Civic Academy for Africa’s Future in Benin.
Regional alliances falter as attacks mount
Benin’s frustration is shared at the highest levels. Government spokesman Wilfried Leandre Houngbedji said on Wednesday that the country’s security challenges would be ‘much easier’ to manage with effective cooperation from its neighbours.
Forest-rich zones like W and Pendjari national parks near Burkina Faso and Niger offer militant groups strategic hideouts, compounding the threat.
In response to what they view as Western interference, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger — now operating as the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) — have withdrawn from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The AES has created a joint military force and conducts coordinated anti-terror operations — but only with countries it considers politically aligned, excluding Benin and Cote d’Ivoire.
The AES does, however, collaborate with Togo and more recently, Ghana. Nigeria, meanwhile, has mounted a diplomatic campaign to restore ties with Niger, which were suspended after the July 2023 coup.
Ochieng says Benin’s efforts must go beyond military action. ‘Community engagement and socio-economic support are essential to reduce the risk of local recruitment by jihadist groups,’ she said. ‘But this remains difficult without cooperation from the Sahel, where the root of the insurgency lies.’
Benin exposed as militants expand grip
The jihadist group JNIM is believed to be the dominant militant force in northern Benin, according to Lassina Diarra, Director of the Strategic Research Institute at the International Academy against Terrorism in Jacqueville, Cote d’Ivoire.
‘There is a sociological, ethnic and territorial continuity with southern Burkina Faso, which is beyond the control of that state,’ Diarra explained, giving JNIM deep local reach and operational freedom.
Ochieng added that JNIM likely aims to use its foothold in Benin to ‘encircle Burkina Faso and consolidate its influence’.
On Thursday, ECOWAS reiterated the urgent need for intensified collaboration in the region, underscoring what it called ‘the imperious necessity of an indispensable and reinforced cooperation’ to confront the deepening jihadist threat.
But in a West Africa growing ever more divided between pro- and anti-Western blocs, the chances of such cooperation taking root any time soon remain slim — leaving Benin vulnerable at the crossroads of a regional insurgency.
