Rwandan Defence Forces are just waiting for an order from higher authorities to swiftly deploy in Benin for a special operation against Jihadists wrecking havoc in north of the country.
A Benin government official said Friday that his country and Kigali are in talks to secure Rwanda’s provision of logistical support and military expertise to help fight Islamist insurgent on its northern border.
Benin’s armed forces are battling an expanding threat from conflicts across its northern border in Burkina Faso and Niger.
“As with Niger and Burkina Faso, we are discussing logistical support and the supply of expertise with Rwanda,” said Benin’s presidential spokesman Wilfried Houngbedji.
“But the coming agreement will not provide for the deployment of Rwandan troops on the ground.”
However, Paris-based specialist website Africa Intelligence had reported on Friday that Rwanda may deploy as many as 700 troops citing details of visits by Beninese military officials to Rwanda.
“I can confirm is that we have an existing defense cooperation between our two countries,” Rwanda Defense Force spokesman Ronald Rwivanga said when asked about the article.
The first troops may arrive in October if negotiations are completed this month, the Paris-based publication reported, saying only a few regional heads of state have been informed. Initially, 350 troops would be deployed and that number may then be doubled, it said.
West African coastal states from Benin, Togo and Ghana to Ivory Coast are increasingly concerned about the spread of violence from Daesh and Al-Qaeda-linked terrorists operating in their northern neighbors.
Rwanda’s military last year deployed around 1,000 troops in Mozambique’s north alongside contingents from other southern African countries as well as support from Europe and the US.
Rwanda’s troops have been among the most effective and are the force deployed most frequently to combat operations in northern Mozambique.
Mozambique’s nearly five-year-old insurgency has killed more than 3,700 people and driven more than 800,000 from their homes as well as suspending a multi-billion dollar gas project.
