ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AFP) — West African regional bloc ECOWAS on Thursday condemned an attack by suspected jihadists which killed 54 troops in northern Benin as a “barbaric and cowardly act”.

After authorities previously gave a death toll of eight soldiers, the Benin government on Wednesday said suspected jihadist insurgents killed 54 troops last week in an attack on military posts in a Benin national park.

The Economic Community of West African States “condemns in the strongest possible terms this barbaric and cowardly act, which once again aims to sow terror and destabilise our member states”, it said in a statement.

The “odious terrorist attack” caused the “loss of lives and left several people injured”, the statement added, without giving precise figures.

The April 17 attack was claimed by the Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), which said it had killed 70 Beninese soldiers.

The official toll of 54 dead would make it the deadliest attack confirmed by the Beninese authorities since a recent uptick in strikes on military bases.

Benin’s government often blames such attacks on Islamist militants seeking to extend their reach from neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger.

Both countries have been locked in conflict with militants affiliated to the Islamic State group or Al-Qaeda for more than a decade.

Benin deployed nearly 3,000 soldiers to secure its borders in January 2022. It later sent an additional 5,000 troops to bolster security in the north.

Twenty-eight Benin soldiers were killed near the border between Benin, Niger and Burkina Faso in January in an attack also claimed by the JNIM.