On 1–2 December 2021 a group of unidentified militants attacked a military outpost in Porga, Atakora Department, northwestern Benin near its border with Burkina Faso.

Porga attack
Part of the Jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso (alleged)
Date1-2 December 2021
Location11°3′0″N 0°58′0″E / 11.05000°N 0.96667°E / 11.05000; 0.96667
Belligerents
 Benin Unknown militants
Casualties and losses
2 1
Porga attack is located in Benin
Porga attack
Porga attack
Site of the attack

During the attack, two soldiers were killed and several others wounded. One of the attackers was slain by military forces.[1] It has been suggested that the militants could have come from Burkina Faso, which has been fighting a low-intensity conflict against salafi jihadists since 2015.[2] Colonel Didier Ahouanvoédo said that "traces of blood were seen suggesting that other dead or wounded were dragged in the direction of the withdrawal towards a neighboring country [Burkina Faso] where terrorist groups are rife."[3]

The day before, a terrorist attack had occurred in Alibori Department, also in northern Benin, resulting in one of the terrorist's being killed. These two incidents were the second terrorist attacks in Benin since 2019, when Islamists kidnapped a pair of French tourists.[1]

On 10 December militants raided Porga again, leaving four people injured.[4]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Two Soldiers Killed in Militant Attack in Benin, Army Says". Voice of America. Archived from the original on 2021-12-24. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  2. ^ "Benin: Suspected militants attack security post in Porga overnight Dec. 1-2". GardaWorld. Archived from the original on 2021-12-24. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  3. ^ Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "Après les attaques, le difficile retour à la vie normale à Porga | DW | 03.12.2021". DW.COM (in French). Archived from the original on 2021-12-24. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  4. ^ "Bénin: des militaires blessés dans une nouvelle attaque djihadiste signalée à Porga". Bénin Web TV (in French). 2021-12-12. Archived from the original on 2021-12-24. Retrieved 2021-12-24.