Deadly attack on four villages in northern Togo

For “many dead” and “several wounded”, all civilians, the army and the government of Togo talk about an attack that took place in four villages in the northern part of the country.

The attack, which took place on the night of Thursday to Friday, was the fourth since November 2021 in this sector of Togo, on the border with Burkina Faso, from where jihadists are coming.

“Unidentified gunmen launched coordinated and complex attacks on several villages in Kpenjal and West Kpenjal counties in the Savanna region” (north), according to a statement from the general staff read during a state television news broadcast. “Unfortunately, this attack left many dead and many injured,” continued the announcement, which did not include specific numbers.

The injured were transported by the armed forces to hospitals, according to the same img.

The government confirmed that the attack was carried out in “four communities of Kpenjal and West Kpenjal counties, causing many casualties, all civilians.”

In its statement released on Saturday, Lomé promised that “new measures will be taken to strengthen the security of citizens and property” in the region, condemning the “cowardly, heinous and criminal” action.

The day before Friday, the government spokesman confirmed that an attack had been carried out and expressed fears that there were victims.

“Our country is experiencing a lot of intrusions in the north. A clearance operation is underway and there are fears that we will have casualties,” Communications Minister and government spokesman Akonda Ayewadan told Kanal FM radio station.

According to Mr. Ayewadan, the attack did not target any police or military “positions”.

Countries in the region – Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger – have been plagued by jihadist activity, and neighboring coastal states such as Benin, Ghana, Togo and Ivory Coast have worried for years that the scourge would spread to their own. lands.

Recent series of raids in border areas in Togo and Benin have confirmed their concerns.

In early May, eight Togolese soldiers were killed and 13 others wounded in the first deadly jihadist attack officially admitted on the country’s soil by Lomé. About fifteen attackers were killed by the soldiers, the government added at the time. Responsibility for the action was claimed by the Organization for the Support of Islam and Muslims (WIM), the most powerful jihadist alliance in the Sahel region, which is close to al-Qaeda.

Authorities have intensified military operations in the area to counter the threat. On Thursday, the military admitted that its forces were responsible for a July 10 bombing that killed seven civilians and wounded two others – all of the victims were teenagers – because they mistakenly thought it was a convoy of “jihadists on the move”.