| W National Park massacre | |
|---|---|
 The park entrance sign in Benin | |
| Location | 12°2′27.64″N3°2′3.42″E / 12.0410111°N 3.0342833°E /12.0410111; 3.0342833 W National Park,Benin |
| Date | 8 February 2022; 4 years ago (2022-02-08) (West Africa Time) |
| Weapons | Land mines, explosives |
| Deaths | 8 |
| Perpetrators | Jihadists in Burkina Faso (suspected) |
On 8 February 2022, twoAfrican Parks patrol vehicles inBenin'sW National Park were badly damaged byland mines, killing eight people. The incident, believed to have been perpetrated byIslamists, was one of the largestterrorist attacks in thecountry's history.[1][2]
Benin is more stable than most other countries inWest Africa, and is one of the few nations to not have amajor terrorism problem. However, beginning in late 2021, terrorism began to creep in from abroad, especially from theSahel, which is to the north. In December 2021, thePorga attack occurred when gunmen (probably fromBurkina Faso, which has ajihadist insurgency), raided a military outpost near the town of Porga inAtakora Department, killing twosoldiers. In January 2022, amilitary vehicle collided with animprovised explosive device, killing two people.[3]
On 8 February 2022 a patrol vehicle in W National Park was scouting forpoachers when their vehicles hit two land mines planted by theterrorists.[3] Of the eight people killed in the explosion, five werepark rangers, one a park official, another aFrench law enforcement officer, and the other a soldier.[4][5][6] Ten people were injured.[7][8]
French authorities agreed to launch an investigation after learning that a French citizen was among the dead.[9][10] African Parks issued a statement that they were working with French andBeninese authorities in response to the massacre. Beninese troops were sent to the park to maintain order.[11] Government authorities also held a meeting to discuss the attack.[12]
On 10 February anotherroadside bombing killed acivilian and a park ranger. The ranger initially survived the bombing but died after he was attacked by the perpetrators.[9][5]
On 10 February theFrench Armed Forces conducted anairstrike on a base held byJihadist rebels in SouthernBurkina Faso. The official motive given was retaliation for the massacre.[13][4][9][1]