NAIROBI: The African Union hs called for urgent cooperation to tackle extremist violence in the Sahel region, after a recent attack blamed on militants killed 54 soldiers in northern Benin.
The region, which borders both Niger and Burkina Faso, has seen a recent rise in strikes targeting army positions and on April 17, suspected extremists attacked military posts in a national park.
Benin’s government blamed the attacks on a spillover from Niger and Burkina Faso, both ruled by army officers who took power in coups on the promise of quashing the long-running extremist scourge in the Sahel.
The AU commission’s chairman, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, condemned the latest attack and called it “cowardly.”
The attack “highlights the urgent need for enhanced cooperation between neighboring states to address the growing threat posed by terrorist groups operating in the Sahel,” a statement read.
On Wednesday, Benin criticized the lack of cooperation with authorities in Burkina Faso and Niger, which have been hit by violence from armed groups affiliated to Al-Qaeda and Daesh.
Burkina Faso and Niger have turned their backs on the West and accuse Benin of harboring foreign military bases to destabilize them. Benin has denied the accusations.
The April 17 attack was claimed by an Al-Qaeda-affiliated group which claimed that 70 Beninese soldiers were killed.