Two soldiers of Benin’s army killed in IED explosion

Two soldiers of Benin’s armed forces died Tuesday December 12 in the explosion of an improvised explosive device (IED) in the commune of Karimama, north of the country reeling with terrorism activities.
The incident reportedly occurred at Bako Moko in the commune. The soldiers’ motorbike ran over an IED on their way after they left a military outpost at Bako Moko to fetch potable water.
They reportedly died on the post in the explosion. Benin has been grappling since 2019 with terrorism in its northern regions close to Burkina Faso where terrorists and bandits have been sowing havoc.
The country suffered its first terror attack in 2019 after two French citizens were kidnapped from Benin’s Pendjari National Park and their local guide murdered. Authorities until September this year claimed 40 civilians and 20 soldiers have been killed over the past three years.
The Tuesday attack is not the first in Karimama. A tricycle carrying bags and two passengers ran over an IED on January 1 this year on the Kofounou-Mamassy Gourma road. The explosion killed two young people.
Also on May 4 2023, a truck driver transporting sand was injured when he drove over an improvised explosive device in Loumbou-Loumbou in the Commune of Karimama.