Twenty-eight soldiers have lost their lives in an attack in northern Benin Republic as violence blamed on militant insurgents based in neighbouring countries increases.
A high-ranking official said the strike took place on Wednesday evening near the border with insurgency-hit Burkina Faso and Niger.
Attacks in northern Benin have increased in recent years, with authorities accusing insurgent groups based in neighbouring countries.
Gunmen in December 2014 killed three soldiers and wounded four others who were guarding an oil pipeline in northeast Benin.
Similarly, in June 2023, seven Beninese troops were killed in an attack at the Pendjari National Park on the border with Burkina Faso.