A Beninese armed forces vehicle was the target of an improvised explosive device (IED) attack this Thursday, January 6, near the border with Burkina Faso.
The attack took place in northwestern Benin, near the border with Burkina Faso. According to a security source, one soldier died on the spot and the second died after being evacuated. There was no word on whether anyone was injured. The army is not communicating, nor is the government. Since the recent attacks, the Beninese army has only spoken once through a spokesperson.
According to our information, it was a troop transport vehicle that was blown up by the explosion. Ground reinforcements were immediately mobilized to evacuate the victims and carry out sweeping operations in the area. This is the second time an army vehicle has been blown up by an IED. The first such attack, in early December, resulted in four minor injuries.
The threat is taken seriously. This attack comes just one week after President Patrice Talon’s speech to the parliament, in which he promised to strengthen the operational capacity of the Beninese army in terms of human, logistical and technical resources. This weekend, the Chief of Staff of the Army, Fructueux Gbaguidi, was alongside hundreds of soldiers deployed in the area.