A terrorist attack in northern Benin, near the borders with Burkina Faso and Niger, on April 17 resulted in the deaths of 54 soldiers, according to a new official death toll released by the government on Wednesday.
Official spokesperson for the Beninese president Serge Nonvignon said on Wednesday, “Heavy losses for the nation” on Facebook.
In an earlier statement, the authorities had indicated that there had been a total of only eight soldiers killed.
The attack was claimed by an al-Qaeda-linked group, the Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (Jnim).
The Jnim is one of several jihadist groups operating in the Sahel region of West Africa, particularly in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.
Benin and Togo have seen an increase in jihadist activity in recent years, as groups linked to the Islamic State and al-Qaeda have spread into the south.
It is important to note that 28 Beninese soldiers lost their lives in early January in the same region during an attack attributed to the GSIM.