A weekend attack killed six Beninese soldiers with the army having "neutralised" 17 unnamed assailants in response, a military source said on Monday.

Observers are increasingly worried about violence in neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso, both battling long-entrenched jihadist insurgencies, spilling into the coastal west African country.

"We lost six men and we neutralised 17," a senior army official told AFP, adding that the military was "combing the W National Park" in response.

The Saturday afternoon attack took place in the Beninese town of Karimama, located in the nature reserve which extends across the porous Niger and Burkina Faso borders.

Attacks in northern Benin have increased in recent years with authorities blaming members of the Islamic State group and Al-Qaeda-linked jihadists based across the border.

A diplomatic source told AFP last month that 121 Beninese military personnel had been killed between 2021 and December 2024.

"The more the situation in Niger and Burkina Faso deteriorates, the harder it gets for Benin," the source added.

In January, an attack in the Pendjari National Park near the borders of Niger and Burkina Faso killed 28 Beninese soldiers.

The incident was later claimed by the Al-Qaeda-linked Group to Support Islam and Muslims (JNIM).

Gunmen in December killed three soldiers and wounded four others who were guarding an oil pipeline in northeast Benin.

Benin in January 2022 deployed nearly 3,000 troops to secure its borders as part of Operation Mirador.

The country's authorities also recruited 5,000 additional personnel to reinforce security in the north.

Last week, Benin's defence ministry announced new measures for soldiers' "psychological support".

"It's our collective responsibility to offer them the necessary resources so that they can pursue their mission in the best conditions possible, in total safety, both physically and psychologically," said Colonel-Major Mathias Alizannon. (AFP)

Update news