Since the beginning of 2021, non-state armed groups (NSAGs) linked to the Islamic State or al-Qaeda in the Sahel have intensified their attacks in Benin as a result of a spillover of the protracted security and humanitarian crisis in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. The geographic expansion of this crisis is increasingly affecting the northern regions of coastal countries in the Gulf of Guinea, including Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Togo.
NSAGs initially attacked military positions but have since been targeting civilians. As they advanced south from the Sahel, they established a safe base for their operations in the forests near the Burkina Faso border.
Until May 2024, Benin continued to record a high number of incidents, including attacks on civilians and clashes between NSAGs and security forces. There has also been a significant increase in enforced and attempted kidnappings of civilians in the north over recent years, heightening protection concerns.
By July 2023, there were over 8,700 IDPs in northern Benin, the majority of whom lived in the municipalities of Banikoara, Karimama, and Matera. In April 2024, Benin was also hosting around 13,000 refugees and asylum seekers, mainly from Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, and Togo.
(GRANIT 31/01/2024, IFRI 11/02/2022, ECOWAS 07/03/2024, WFP 06/02/2024, UNHCR 15/05/2024)
Since the beginning of 2021, non-state armed groups (NSAGs) linked to the Islamic State or al-Qaeda in the Sahel have intensified their attacks in Benin as a result of a spillover of the protracted security and humanitarian crisis in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. The geographic expansion of this crisis is increasingly affecting the northern regions of coastal countries in the Gulf of Guinea, including Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Togo.
NSAGs initially attacked military positions but have since been targeting civilians. As they advanced south from the Sahel, they established a safe base for their operations in the forests near the Burkina Faso border.
Until May 2024, Benin continued to record a high number of incidents, including attacks on civilians and clashes between NSAGs and security forces. There has also been a significant increase in enforced and attempted kidnappings of civilians in the north over recent years, heightening protection concerns.
By July 2023, there were over 8,700 IDPs in northern Benin, the majority of whom lived in the municipalities of Banikoara, Karimama, and Matera. In April 2024, Benin was also hosting around 13,000 refugees and asylum seekers, mainly from Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, and Togo.
(GRANIT 31/01/2024, IFRI 11/02/2022, ECOWAS 07/03/2024, WFP 06/02/2024, UNHCR 15/05/2024)
