Togo: Eight soldiers killed in attack by suspected ‘terrorists’

Safety consultants have warned that armed teams throughout the Sahel might unfold operations to coastal states like Togo.

Map of Togo, exhibiting the capital, Lome

Eight troopers have been killed and 13 wounded in an assault in northern Togo, the federal government stated, marking doubtlessly the primary lethal raid on its territory by armed teams who've killed hundreds in neighbouring nations.

Earlier than daybreak on Wednesday, a bunch of closely armed gunmen ambushed a military publish within the Kpendjal prefecture close to the border with Burkina Faso, the federal government stated in a press release.

Nobody has claimed accountability for the assault.

The federal government blamed “terrorists”, with out offering specifics.

Safety analysts stated the assault was doubtless carried out by an area al-Qaeda affiliate that's primarily based in Mali however lately has unfold south into Burkina Faso.

Teams linked to ISIL (ISIS) and al-Qaeda have carried out a whole bunch of assaults throughout the Sahel area of West Africa lately, focusing primarily on the landlocked nations of Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali.

Togo has up to now been spared the violence, which has pressured hundreds of thousands to flee their properties, however safety consultants have warned about a diffusion in operations that might embody coastal states like Togo.

In 2018, Togo’s army launched an operation to cease armed teams ghosting in from the north.

Safety forces repelled an assault by gunmen on an outpost in the identical space as Wednesday’s assault in November, with out sustaining casualties. Togo stated on the time that the attackers had come over the border from Burkina Faso.

Togo’s coastal neighbour, Benin, has seen a pointy rise in assaults close to its northern border with Burkina Faso. 5 troopers have been killed final month when a military convoy struck an improvised explosive system.

Worldwide companions led by France have spent billions of dollars and deployed hundreds of troops to comprise the assaults, which started in Mali in 2012 earlier than spreading into Niger and Burkina Faso.

However the violence continues, particularly in poor rural areas the place armed teams mix in.

The insecurity has undermined democracy in nations the place residents have turn out to be fed up with the violence and rallied for change. In Mali and Burkina Faso, the army have snatched energy since 2020, promising to shore up safety.