Benin - Population Movement, DREF Operation (MDRBJ018)
Benin - Population Movement, DREF Operation (MDRBJ018)
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What happened, where and when?
Over the past three years, the threat of non-state armed groups (NSAGs) in the Sahel region has increased in the border area of Burkina Faso with Benin and Togo. The last half of 2022 saw an increase in violence on the Burkina Faso-Benin-Togo border. From December 2021 to September 2022, there were 43 attacks in Benin linked to non-state armed groups, according to researcher Kars de Bruijne in the newspaper Le Monde https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2023/01/27/au-benin-la-lutte-antidjihadiste-fait-craindre-une-stigmatisation-accrue-des-peuls_6159588_3212.html). The Benin Red Cross has been monitoring the situation alongside the authorities. The attacks were initially confined to the border between eastern Burkina Faso and Benin, in the W and Pendjari national parks, in the Alibori and Atacora regions, with small numbers of people entering the country since the beginning of the violence. In total, in almost two years, these attacks have led to 2,284 displaced persons taking refuge in the Atacora prefecture.
However, since January 2023, raids of armed groups have spread to communes bordering the Pendjari and the W parks, notably in Matéri, Cobly, Tanguiéta, Banikoara, Malanville, Karimama and Kerou. Recent attacks in the Savanes region of Togo have caused forced displacement of populations in several localities bordering this region.
The successive scattered events have seen an increase in the number of internally displaced persons and refugees from Togo and Burkina in the Beninese border towns. The most significant recent attacks took place in May.
Assessments conducted by local authorities as of 10 May show that from 3 April to 13 May 2023, approximately 28 people were killed in the communes of Matéri, Tanguiéta and Kérou and 6,852 people were displaced and refugees moved to other localities in the communes of Matéri, Tanguiéta and Kérou. Without significant aid to date, these thousands of people have remained in need and others could be added. Following an emergency meeting organized by the local authorities of Atacora with the partners on 5 May, the local authorities requested the help of the Beninese Red Cross on 10 May 2023 to assist these households in need.
Scope and Scale
The displacements resulting from the attacks of the armed groups have been successive since the beginning of these insurrections. From January to May, successive attacks in the northern part of the country, and those in northern Togo and on the Burkinabe border, forced the populations of several villages to flee their homes due to killings and/or threats by armed groups. The initially restricted flows have increased from 2,283 IDPs recorded in January to 6,852 IDPs as of 13 May 2023. A total of 4,267 people were internally displaced, and 2,585 refugees registered as of 10 May. More than four thousand being registered between April and 10 May as a result of successive incursion of non-states armed group in that period. The most significant attacks took place in the department of Atacora, a department located in the northwest of Benin.
In January and February in the commune of Matéri (arrondissement of Dassar, Atakora Department).
In May (1 to 2 May 2023) in the commune of Kérou (Kérou Arrondissement, Atakora Department) with injuries and kidnappings recorded.
On the morning of Wednesday 10 May 2023, three young people died in the explosion of an artisanal mine in Koabagou, Kérou commune.
From 12 to 13 May 2023 in Tampassika (Tantega district, Atakora Department of northwestern Benin)
The displaced persons are now taking refuge in several villages a little further south in the Atacora department, notably the arrondissement of Kouandé; and in the southern villages of the commune of Matéri, Tanguieta, Kérou.
The majority are in the last three localities mentioned. They are mainly Togolese and nationals fleeing the deadly violence caused by these attacks. Among these displaced persons are women, children, elderly people, people with reduced mobility, etc. To date, there are no sites or temporary accommodation facilities for these people, who are scattered throughout the communities of the various villages, with a large number living with host families.
Humanitarian aid has been provided by actors on the ground to support the government in assisting displaced people, but the situation, with its recent developments since April, is increasingly worrying and populations continue to be registered. The extent of the situation and the most urgent needs were presented by the prefectural authorities to the various humanitarian actors on 5 May, including the provision of food, accommodation, health care for children and pregnant women, cases of monetary and non-monetary poverty, and water, hygiene, and sanitation needs. With almost all of the displaced living with host families, this situation severely affects the income of the host communities making about 7,000 people from host families also at risk of impoverishment in these villages. In total, between 12,000 and 14,000 people are affected by these displacements.
The situation of promiscuity in which the populations live is alarming. In view of a mission to the said communes, the Prefect of the Department of Atacora had to contact the Beninese Red Cross by letter N 103/P-SGD-CM-SA of 10 May 2023 to request its support in assisting the displaced, refugees and host families in the three communes of Matéri, Tanguiéta and Kérou.
The geographical position of these three communes, bordering Burkina Faso, Togo and the Pendjari Park, favours incursions by non-state armed groups present on the Burkinabe side, with several attacks since 2021, multiplied since February 2023. The porous nature of the borders allows for the displacement of populations, but also of armed groups. New threats continue to be recorded, leading to fears of more displacements facilitated by the porosity of the borders.
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