The Army recognizes “a very hard blow” and affirms that there are “very large losses” among its ranks
Jan. 10 (EUROPA PRESS) –
Around 30 Beninese soldiers died on Wednesday in an attack carried out by unidentified armed persons against a security post located at a point on the border with Burkina Faso and Niger, with no claim of responsibility for now.
Sources cited by the Beninese news portal Daabaaru have indicated that the attack was perpetrated inside the W National Park – which extends through the three aforementioned countries – and have added that at least 28 military personnel have been confirmed dead, in addition to 40 assailants
For his part, the Chief of Staff of the Beninese Army, Faizou Gomina, has spoken of “very large losses”, without giving a balance, while expressing his “great sadness” over the incident. “I offer my condolences to the families and loved ones of our personnel who fell on the front,” he added.
“The position attacked was one of the strongest and most militarized of the ‘Mirador’ operation, with numerous weapons, observation drones and a device with Internet to quickly monitor any malicious situation,” he explained.
In this sense, Gomina has stressed that the event “demonstrates that the material by itself is not enough to win a fight.” “The operational posture and the quality of our human resources are key to defeating this threat,” he said, while asking commanders on the ground to “organize their men.”
“Wake up, gentlemen officers and section chiefs. We have battles to win. We have received a very hard blow, but we are not going to give in. We are not going to perish. We will win,” concluded the Chief of the Army Staff, according to a statement collected by the news portal Le Beninois Libere.
In recent years, the Benin authorities have reinforced the security deployment on the border with Burkina Faso and Niger due to the rise in attacks in the area and fear of expansion of jihadist groups operating in the Sahel region.
Add Comment