Benin army suffers heavy losses in northern attack

10/1/2025 7:55

Benin's armed forces have suffered heavy losses in an attack on one of their most well-equipped positions in the north, where troops are trying to curb cross-border assaults by Islamist militants, the national guard's chief of staff said on Thursday.



Colonel Faizou Gomina did not share a death toll or details on the location of Wednesday's attack, but the main opposition party, The Democrats, said around 30 soldiers had been killed in the department of Alibori, which shares a border with insurgency-plagued Niger and Burkina Faso.



"We've been dealt a very hard blow," Gomina said in a statement.



He called on military commanders to improve their leadership and tactics.