Benin forces have suffered heavy losses in an attack near the border with insurgency-hit Niger and Burkina Faso, authorities have said.
Colonel Faizou Gomina, the national guard’s chief of staff, said one of Benin’s most well-equipped military positions had been hit in the north on Wednesday evening.
“We’ve been dealt a very hard blow,” Col Gomina added.
The country has in recent years witnessed increasing attacks in the northern region blamed on jihadist groups based in neighbouring countries.