The north of Togo was once again bereaved following an attack which caused the death of at least twelve soldiers on Monday 17 July. According to several media, it occurred while the soldiers of the Defense and Security Forces (FDS) were traveling around noon aboard six Jeeps in the village of Sankortchagou, located in the prefecture of Kpendjal, about ten kilometers from the border with Burkina Faso. The soldiers were allegedly ambushed by heavily armed fighters. Seriously injured, without their number being specified, were evacuated to the regional hospital center of Dapaong.
The offensive has not been claimed, but all eyes are on the jihadists of the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM). Since January, this group, a subsidiary of Al-Qaeda in the Sahel, has admitted being behind ten attacks out of the fourteen that have been carried out in Togo, the last four having not been claimed and their perpetrators never identified. They all occurred in the Savanes region and resulted in the death of 64 people, according to Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (Acled), an NGO specializing in information gathering and data analysis in conflict zones.
On November 17, 2022, Sankortchagou was targeted for the first time by the GSIM. Eight people (six soldiers and two assailants) were then killed. “The GSIM had claimed responsibility for the offensive and declared to have recovered three AK rifles, ten chargers and seven motorcycles”according to Acled.
Operation “Koundjoaré”
Nevertheless“Togo does not appear to be a priority target for the GSIM, explains an expert who has worked in the region. Unlike northern Benin, abandoned by the authorities for several years, this part of Togo is not fertile ground for the expansion of jihadist groups, because there are relatively few frustrations to exploit and fewer inter-community tensions. The border, which is only a hundred kilometers long, is narrow and therefore relatively easy to monitor. Finally, in terms of security, this northern region, where President Faure Gnassingbè is from, is a priority for the Togolese army. »
The region also benefits from the support of the international community. The United States announced on July 10 a contribution of 2.6 million euros to an emergency program launched by the authorities. “The government has already made a lot of effort to support the Savanes region through various programs aimed at local populations, but also by relocating certain interministerial meetings, for exampleconfirms a local source. The problem is that it is sparsely populated and therefore the intelligence feedback works quite poorly despite a strong military presence. »
A foreign observer also explains that “The GSIM has no interest in destabilizing northern Togo, which is located on the flow of traffic. The gold, cattle and drugs, which finance the armed groups, pass through the Savanes region before being transported to the port of Lomé and being exported. »
Since August 2022, the government and the army no longer communicate on the security situation in the north of the country. But in a televised address given on the occasion of the 63e anniversary of Togo’s independence on April 28, Faure Gnassingbè, president since 2005, said that around 100 civilians and 40 soldiers had been killed since the first jihadist attacks at the end of 2021. The Head of State also explained the strategies put in place to fight against armed groups and provided some details on the “Koundjoaré” operation, which began in September 2018 in the Savannah region. “This first had a preventive posture, explained Faure Gnassingbè. She was then defensive and now, from time to time, we are also on the offensive. »
Fulani herders arrested
Sankorchagu’s attack does not seem to be a response to an army operation, however. “The offensives generally occur in villages located about ten kilometers south of the Burkinabe border. The attackers terrorize the populations in order to occupy a strip of territory which will allow them to circulate freely from Benin to Ghanaentrusted to World Christian Eninam Trimua, government spokesperson, in July 2022. They also take advantage of attacks to scavenge livestock and food. »
According to several observers, the July 17 attack could be linked to the closure of transhumance corridors between Togo and Burkina, plagued by jihadist insurgencies, and the mass arrests of nomadic herders, often from the Fulani community, like a good number of GSIM members. “The hypothesis of a warning shot decided as a result of this policy hostile to Fulani herders seems the most probable for the time being, believes the regional expert. But it could also correspond to a warning addressed to the Togolese government so that it does not expel Burkinabé refugees, as Ghana recently did. »
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In mid-July, more than 500 citizens of Burkina Faso, including many women with their children, were expelled from Ghanaian territory, causing concern from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Nearly 27,000 people, mostly Burkinabe, have found refuge in Togo in recent years.