At least eight Togolese soldiers were killed and thirteen wounded on Tuesday night in a “terrorist” attack in northern Togo, a first in the country previously spared from violence, the government announced.
“During the night of Tuesday to Wednesday at around 3:00 am, an advanced post of the Operation Kondjouaré device, located in the locality of Kpinkankandi was the object of a violent terrorist attack carried out by a group of heavily armed individuals not yet identified.
This attack unfortunately left eight people dead and 13 wounded on the side of the defense and security forces,” the government said in a statement broadcast on state television.
This was the first deadly “terrorist” attack in Togo, where the army is deployed in the north to deal with the threat of spillover violence from jihadist groups in neighboring Burkina Faso. Togo had recorded only one attack in November 2021.
The government said it “strongly condemns this cowardly and barbaric attack,” saying it was doing everything possible to “seek out and disable these armed terrorist groups.”
According to a senior military official who requested anonymity, the soldiers were attacked by about 60 men on motorcycles.
“The exchange of fire lasted more than two hours. And it was one of the reinforcement teams that jumped on an improvised explosive device,” he said.
In November 2021, armed men launched an attack on security forces in the far northern village of Sanloaga, with no casualties.
A recent series of border raids in countries south of the Sahel has confirmed fears that jihadist groups in the region are seeking to advance toward the coast.
Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have been plagued by jihadist insurgencies, and neighboring states such as Ghana, Togo, and Côte d’Ivoire are concerned about spillover to their borders.