Benin now seems vulnerable to the jihadist threat. For several years, the north of the country constitutes a transit zone for individuals linked to Sahelian jihadist groups. Proof, this Wednesday 1is December 2021, a suspected jihadist was neutralized by the Beninese army in Mékrou, region located in the municipality of Banikoara.
Conflict between jihadist groups and authorities continues in the Sahel, but it is expanding to new countries. This is the reality of the end of the year 2021 where these lawless men seek new havens. Reason why, le gouvernement du Bénin a vite pris les taureaux par les cornes pour ne laisser point ces messieurs assoiffés de la barbarie séjourner ou faire la loi sur son territoire.
Indeed, according to the local press, attacked in the morning of this Wednesday, December 1 2021 at the level of the Mékrou river in the commune of Banikoara by two suspected jihadists, elements of the Beninese armed forces did not hesitate to respond in the most beautiful way. Results, un des deux présumés djihadistes a été neutralisé. According to Banuto, this killed man carried a personal weapon with nearly 200 cartridges, homemade grenades but "no paper that could indicate his identity was found on him. However, investigations are underway to identify the slain man ".
While waiting for the end of the investigations, the question of a possible geographical extension of the activity of jihadist insurrectionary movements in the northern part of Benin, especially in border areas is no longer in doubt. The main thing is to always be on the lookout for prevention.
As a reminder
In May 2019, two French tourists were kidnapped in Pendjari park, a few kilometers from the Burkinabé border. Five jihadist cells, according to the iremos.fr website, are said to be active in the area, and fighting has already pitted the Beninese army against Katiba Macina fighters (combat unit linked to Al Qaeda). In February 2020, a police station was also attacked by armed men near the park of the W. While the authorities have never confirmed the jihadist nature of the attack, sometimes even attributing it to traffickers or poachers, the modus operandi as well as the target recall the jihadist attacks that regularly occur in Burkina Faso.
Damien TOLOMISSI