It’s been more than a year since jihadis first stormed Igor Kassah’s town in northern Benin but the priest still lives in fear. His once peaceful life is now marked by threatening phone calls and Islamic extremist diatribes tacked on church doors demanding that people leave. He is haunted by the bodies he has seen of those killed in the attacks. “We no longer have a normal life,” the 41-year-old said through text messages to The Associated Press. “It’s hard to talk and act confidently because you don’t know who’s in front of you anymore.” Violence by extremists linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group has wracked much of West Africa’s inland Sahel region for more than seven years. Now it is spreading into the coastal states with Benin the hardest hit, say experts. Jihadi attacks in Benin have spiked more than tenfold between July and December compared to the same period last year — from 2 to 25 — according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project. This is more than any other coastal state in West Africa. If the extremist violence continues to spread it could have far-reaching consequences, say analysts. “When you talk about the Sahel, geopolitical interests are limited,” said Kars de Bruijne, senior research fellow with Clingendael, a Dutch-based research organization. “But it’s different for coastal states, which are economically much stronger and more important to the African Union and Western countries such as England and the United States,” he said. These Western powers might see their interests at stake, which is a key reason why they should be really concerned about the spillover of extremist violence into Benin, he said. The more fronts the jihadis open, the more difficult it will be to effectively respond, he said. Read more: UN: Sahel violence could drive more refugees toward Europe The violence in Benin, a country of 12 million people, is largely a result of what’s happening in neighboring Burkina Faso, where jihadi attacks have killed hundreds and displaced nearly 2 million people. Attacks were initially confined to the border between eastern Burkina Faso and Benin in the W and Pendjari National Parks in the Alibori and Atacora regions, but are now expanding. Incidents have increased since June in populated areas around the parks with jihadis connected to the al-Qaida-linked group known as JNIM, pushing Benin’s military from the border creating a security vacuum and taking control of part of the country, said a recent report by Clingendael. The jihadi rebels appear to be creating a large area of influence from Niger to Togo in order to keep supply lines open, recruit people and procure material, say analysts. Another aim could be to withstand pressure from the Accra Initiative, a military platform involving Burkina Faso and coastal countries to prevent the further spread of extremism from the Sahel. Benin’s government has ramped up its response investing nearly $130 million to create new operating bases, fortify existing ones and recruit nearly 4,000 security forces since last year, Benin’s President Patrice Talon said in a speech earlier this month. But the government’s increased security is bringing human rights abuses such as arbitrary arrests of those suspected of working with jihadis, particularly the ethnic Fulani who are suspected to be affiliated to Islamic extremists, say locals and rights groups. “There is a risk that human rights violations will become systematic and worsen, as is the case in neighboring countries that have been fighting the same armed groups for several years,” said Samira Daoud, regional director for West Africa for Amnesty International. West Africa’s coastal states and the international community haven’t learned enough from the crisis in the Sahel about how to address the insecurity, say regional experts. “We’re watching the same dynamic play out in Benin and I’m afraid that we are trying the same strategies that failed in the Sahel,” said Laura Sanders, founder of Cetus Global a consulting company based in Benin and focused on conflict prevention in West Africa. Read more: Over 59 million internally displaced in 2021 “There’s an opportunity to choose a different route for littoral countries in addressing the crisis, focusing on the drivers of violence and what pushes people into these armed groups, such as unresolved grievances, social marginalization, and poor governance of natural resources,” she said. To reduce humanitarian suffering as violence increases, it’s urgent to scale up investments now in education, nutrition and health in regions bordering central Sahel countries, say aid groups. Meanwhile, communities in Benin say they are being forced to accept a life they never thought they’d have to endure. “We thought for a moment, perhaps because of a certain naivety ... that (we) could escape the situation of threats, of near-daily attacks that (Benin) is undergoing,” said Arnaud Houenou an expert in national security and a professor at Benin’s University of Abomey Calavi. “Benin has been spared the terrorist war in the Sahel despite its proximity to Nigeria and Burkina Faso,” he said. “But reality has set in.”    

Gunmen killed at least 100 people in a northern Burkina Faso village, the government said Saturday, in what was the country’s deadliest attack in years. The attack took place Friday evening in Solhan village, in the Sahel’s Yagha province, government spokesman Ousseni Tamboura said in a statement blaming jihadists. The local market and several homes were also burned down in the area toward the border of Niger, he said. President Roch Marc Christian Kabore called the attack “barbaric.” Read:Killer of 8 in California had talked of workplace attacks This is the deadliest attack recorded in Burkina Faso since the West African country was overrun by jihadists linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State about five years ago, said Heni Nsaibia, senior researcher at the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project. “It is clear that militant groups have shifted up gears to aggravate the situation in Burkina Faso, and moved their efforts to areas outside the immediate reach of the French-led counter-terrorism coalition fighting them in the tri-state border region,” he said. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Despite the presence of more than 5,000 French troops in the Sahel, jihadist violence is increasing. In one week in April, more than 50 people were killed in Burkina Faso, including two Spanish journalists and an Irish conservationist. More than 1 million people in the country have been internally displaced. A local who did not want to be named, fearing for his safety, was visiting relatives in a medical clinic in Sebba town, approximately 12 kilometers from where the attacks occurred. He said he saw many wounded people enter the clinic. Read: US sanctions Myanmar military and junta leaders for attacks “I saw 12 people in one room and about 10 in another. There were many relatives caring for the wounded. There were also many people running from Solhan to enter Sebba....People are very afraid and worried,” he told the Associated Press by phone. The government has declared 72 hours of mourning. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was outraged by the killings and offered the world body’s full support to authorities in their efforts to overcome the threats to the peace and stability in Burkina Faso according to his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric. “He strongly condemns the heinous attack and underscores the urgent need for the international community to redouble support to Member States in the fight against violent extremism and its unacceptable human toll,” Dujarric said in a statement. Islamic extremists have been increasingly staging assaults in Burkina Faso, especially in the region that borders Niger and Mali. Read:AP statement on Israeli attack on building housing AP office Last month, gunmen killed at least 30 people in eastern Burkina Faso near the border with Niger. Burkina Faso’s ill-equipped army has been struggling to contain the spread of jihadists. The government enlisted the help of volunteer fighters last year to help the army, but the volunteers have incurred retaliation by extremists who target them and the communities they help. Mali also is experiencing a political crisis that has led to the suspension of international support. France has said it is ceasing joint military operations with Malian forces until the West African nation’s junta complies with international demands to restore civilian rule.

Bangladesh has requested Guinea Bissau, a county in West Africa, to consider accrediting a non-resident Ambassador to Bangladesh at least for maintaining a regular contact in both ways to help boost relations between the two countries exploring trade potential.  Terming the trade between two countries as not up to its potentials, Bangladesh suggested that Guinea Bissau can import quality goods at affordable price from Bangladesh, such as, RMG, pharmaceuticals, ceramics, electronics, ICT products, bicycles, motor cycles and even ships. Bangladesh Ambassador to Portugal Tarik Ahsan presented his credentials to the President of Guinea Bissau Umaro Mokhtar Sissoco Embaló in the capital city Bissau on Tuesday as the non-resident Ambassador to that country with residence in Lisbon and raised the issues.  The President expressed his willingness to concurrently accredit a non-resident Ambassador of Guinea Bissau to Bangladesh.  Also read: How Bangladesh can boost apparel exports He expressed keen interest in expanding cooperation with Bangladesh, particularly in the proposed areas of trade and capacity building, and suggested that the two Foreign Ministries remain in contact for promoting the cooperation.  Citing Bangladesh’s success in grass roots level development, the Ambassador viewed that, in a spirit of South-South cooperation, Bangladesh and Guinea Bissau can cooperate and exchange best practices, particularly in rural development and agriculture.  Also read: Coronavirus: Experts call for paying attention to apparel sector He attached importance to working together at multilateral fora on the common issue of climate change.  Ambassador Ahsan requested for continued support of Guinea Bissau, at UN and OIC platforms, in the efforts for ensuring repatriation of the forcibly displaced Rohingyas from Bangladesh to Myanmar. The Ambassador was escorted in a motorcade from his hotel accommodation in Bissau to the Palace of the Republic.   On his arrival at the Palace, the Ambassador received a gun salute from the Presidential Guards, while national flags of both the countries were flying.  Ambassador Ahsan then ceremonially presented his letter of credence to the President of Guinea Bissau.  In an audience with President Embaló, the Ambassador conveyed the greetings of Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to him.  The Ambassador stated that he was privileged to be the first Bangladesh Ambassador to present credentials to the Head of State of Guinea Bissau.  He mentioned with pride that Bangladesh and Guinea Bissau have similar historical backgrounds of achieving independence through glorious wars of liberation and that flags of both countries were raised at the United Nations Secretariat in New York on the same day on 18 September 1974.  While there had not been much bilateral contact between the two countries in the past, the Ambassador expressed the hope that, with this formal acceptance of an Envoy, relation would now be progressively enhanced to a higher level.  President warmly welcomed the Ambassador to Guinea Bissau and congratulated him on being the first Bangladesh Ambassador to present credentials in his country.  The President extended warm greetings to Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the people of Bangladesh.  The President expressed his belief that bonds of friendship between Bangladesh and Guinea Bissau would be further strengthened in the days to come.  He assured the Ambassador of all cooperation and support during his tenure as Ambassador to Guinea Bissau.   

Gunmen abducted 317 girls from a boarding school in northern Nigeria on Friday, police said, the latest in a series of mass kidnappings of students in the West African nation.