JNIM claims deadly assault in northeastern Togo

[Valin]

FDD's Long War Journal

Caleb Weiss

November 30, 2022

 

he Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), al Qaeda’s branch in the Sahel and much of West Africa, took credit for a significant assault on Togolese forces late last week. That attack left at least 17 soldiers dead near the vicinity of Tiwoli, a small locale near the borders with Benin and Burkina Faso. 

In a short communique released online, JNIM said its men “killed 16 tyrants, burned two cars, and captured 16 Kalashnikovs, 24 rifles magazines, and five motorcycles.” No other information or photos were released with the initial statement. 

The information provided by JNIM largely matches with local reporting. Togolese news sites reported that large columns of jihadists targeted a military outpost with vehicles mounted with heavy machine guns. Though local sources reported that the Togolese soldiers eventually repulsed the attack, at least 17 were killed in the process. 

Today’s communique is the second such claim of responsibility for an attack in Togo conducted by JNIM in the last two weeks. On Nov. 19, the al Qaeda branch also took credit for an assault on a Togolese military position near Sankortchagou, a locale also within Togo’s northeastern Kpendjal region. That assault, which was also reportedly repelled, left two Togolese soldiers wounded. 

(Snip)