Togo reports 30 deaths in ‘terrorism’ incidents this year
In an unprecedented statement on security, Togo’s government said more than 30 people had been killed in “terrorist” attacks in the country’s north so far this year.
Togo, Benin, Ghana, and Ivory Coast all border the Gulf of Guinea and are at risk of spillover from cross-border jihadist conflicts with Niger and Burkina Faso.
Togo’s Communications Minister Yawa Koigan told state TVT late on Monday that the “terrorist” incident left 31 people dead, 29 injured and three more missing.
“Our country has experienced ambush attacks, 11 clashes with armed terrorist groups, nine improvised explosive device explosions, and the discovery and neutralization of 20 improvised explosive devices,” said the minister, who is also a government spokesperson. Stated.
Koigan said the first “terrorist” attack by Togo occurred in Sant Loaga, Kupenjal department, in November 2021, followed by several incursions and incidents in the Savannah region near the Burkina Faso border.
The northern border regions of Benin, Togo and Ghana are under increasing threat of incursion by jihadist groups operating in the Sahel region and seeking to move south.
France’s military withdrawal from the Sahel has raised concerns about the security of Guinea’s Gulf states.
Coups have also occurred in Burkina Faso and Niger, further destabilizing the countries as they battle jihadists linked to Islamic State and al-Qaeda.
Until now, the Togolese government has provided little information about security in the country’s north.
President Faure Gnassingbé said in April that “jihadists” had killed about 140 people, including about 100 civilians, since the first attack at the end of 2021.
Togo said at the time that about 12,000 people had been removed from their homes by the government to “better protect our borders.”
The region also hosts refugees from Burkina Faso, and Togo’s leader said that about half of the 100 civilians killed in the jihadist “war” in the north were not Togolese nationals. Ta.
Security will be a key issue in the upcoming parliamentary and local elections, which the government says should be held by the end of the first quarter of 2024 at the latest.
Gnassingbé has been in power since 2005.
He took over after the death of his father, General Eyadema Gnassingbé, who ruled the country with an iron fist for 38 years.
Source: guardian.ng