Togo is also hit by terrorism
Our Togo-based partner Avenir de l’Environnement reports that a jihadist attack took place on Wednesday at the northern border with Burkina Faso, just 200 km from the Morija-supported Farendé Medical and Social Centre.
According to information gathered on the spot, a military detachment located not far from the Burkinabe border was targeted during the night of 10 to 11 May. Eight soldiers were killed and 13 were wounded, according to an official statement issued later in the day. This is the first terrorist attack on Togolese soil, while it is the first time that casualties have occurred in the Togolese army.
In November, an army position was attacked in the same region, but the attackers were repelled without any material or human damage. The military post attacked on 11 May is part of the Operation Koundjouaré, which is supposed to secure the borders and prevent possible jihadist infiltration.
The climate of latent tension in the sub-region has so far been confined to the three-border area (Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger) known as the Liptako Gourma, and this attack seems to corroborate an advance of terrorism towards the south and the Togolese border. In a report published in February, the French Institute of International Relations questioned the possibility of coastal countries becoming a “new land of expansion for terrorist groups”. Benin has already been hit several times on its border with Burkina, in February and April.
It is therefore clear that the security situation is slowly but steadily deteriorating: the countries of the sub-region are being targeted one by one and the extremists do not hesitate to attack the security forces head-on. Morija remains attentive to the evolution of this situation, which increasingly directs its action towards emergency humanitarian aid, while we salute the courage and daily commitment of our teams and partners who continue their mission in unstable contexts.
