Near the border, Benin forces shoot four militants.

Four assailants were killed in gunfights between Benin troops and militants close to the country’s northern border with Burkina Faso, according to the army.

It did not name a specific organization, but the northern borders of Gulf of Guinea states Benin, Togo, Ghana, and Ivory Coast are under increasing threat from Sahelian jihadists.

Twelve armed men allegedly attacked a military post in Kaobagou, close to the border, early on Friday. However, troops resisted and drove the attackers away in a counteroffensive.

The army released a statement that said, “After retreating, the enemy left behind four dead, as well as a sizable number of weapons and ammunition.”

Armed smuggling groups also cause problems in the border region.

The military in Benin claims that since 2021, there have been more than 20 invasions, compared to at least five assaults in Togo, which is nearby.

Beginning in Mali in 2012, the Sahel crisis quickly extended to Burkina Faso and Niger.

Gulf of Guinea states discussed enhancing cooperation with European partners to contain the spillover from the conflicts in Burkina Faso and Niger earlier this week at a meeting in Accra, the capital of Ghana.

Over two million people have been displaced, thousands have died, and three of the world’s poorest economies have sustained terrible damage in the three Sahel countries.