Rwanda may provide logistical support to help Benin handle the growing terrorism threat in the West African region, Benin presidential spokesperson Wilfried Houngbedji said on Saturday.
According to Reuters, negotiations between Rwanda and Benin about possible logistic support are currently ongoing.
"But the coming agreement will not provide for the deployment of Rwandan troops on the ground," Wilfried Houngbedji told AFP News Agency.
Northern Benin suffers from terrorism the most, amid the ever-present possibility that terrorist groups from neighboring Burkina Faso, Niger and Nigeria may enter the country.
Groups linked to al Qaeda and Daesh that spread to northern Benin from West Africa's Sahel region have escalated attacks in recent months.
On July 26, in northern Benin, two policemen lost their lives and one more was injured as the result of an armed attack. Two terrorists were also killed and several others wounded. The attack took place in Dassari, an outpost in Benin’s Atacora region bordering Burkina Faso.
Earlier, on April 26, an attack was carried out along Benin’s border with Niger at the Monsey outpost. One police officer died in the clash with terrorists.
Five more soldiers were killed in the attack on Pendjari National Park, on the Burkina Faso border, in Benin on April 11.
Another armed attack was carried out on the border shared by Benin, Niger and Burkina Faso, on the Benin side of the national park, on February 8. Eight people, including one French, were killed.
As Islamic terrorism continues to remain one of the most acute security challenges for the West African countries, the latter are collaborating to combat the threat, either joining forces directly or under the umbrella of regional organizations.
Last year Burkina Faso, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Togo carried out a joint military operation. Over 5,700 troops were deployed in the borderlands between Burkina Faso and the other three countries. The operation was under a security cooperation deal the countries agreed upon in 2017 in order to prevent jihadist violence from spreading from the Sahel region.
*Al-Qaeda, Daesh (IS/ISIS/ISIL) - terrorists groups banned in Russia and many other countries