On Monday 13 June 2022, Lomé declared a state of security emergency in the area located in the far north of the country after two terrorist attacks. The decree was issued by the Council of Ministers under the chairmanship of the Head of State Faure Gnassingbé.
The Togolese government has placed the northern part of the country, doubly affected by terrorism, under a state of emergency. This follows two attacks claimed by the Islamic and Muslim Support Group, the main jihadist alliance in the Sahel, linked to Al Qaeda.
In the communiqué announcing the decree, it is stated that this decision comes “with the aim of creating an environment and conditions conducive to the administrative and operational measures necessary for the proper conduct of military operations and the maintenance of order and security in this region. He added that this state of emergency “will strengthen the speed of decision-making and facilitate greater agility of public services and defence and security forces”.
The first terrorist attacks in Togo
On the night of 10-11 May 2022, eight soldiers were killed and 13 injured in an attack in the north of the country. Indeed, it was the deadliest terrorist attack recorded in Togo. In the exchange of fire, fifteen assailants were killed by military bullets. The Islamic and Muslim Support Group (GSIM), the main jihadist alliance in the Sahel, linked to Al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack. The GSIM had indicated that it “left with 1 DShK, 4 boxes of DShK ammunition, 4 boxes of belted ammunition, 8 French assault rifles with 28 magazines, 1 AK, 2 AK magazines and 1 handgun”. He also said that one vehicle had been destroyed by a bomb and another set on fire. It should be noted that the Togolese authorities have made no comment on this matter.
At the end of last week, an information note from the Ghanaian Ministry of Defence, which was widely reported in the Togolese press, indicated: “a suspicious movement of a group of people along a mountainous area bordering the Bunkpurugu/Nankpanduri district in the North-East region and the Garu district in the Upper East region”.
The persons were reportedly seen on motorbikes wearing clothes that hid their faces and were heading towards the mountainous area of Garu district. The government also mentioned ‘a previous attempted attack, in this same part of the national territory, valiantly repelled by the defence and security forces on the night of 10 to 11 November 2021’.
It should be recognised that the army has been deployed for several years in northern Togo to deal with the threat of violence from jihadist groups in neighbouring Burkina Faso. The state of security is scheduled to last for three months in accordance with the Constitution, and this measure can be extended, with the authorisation of the National Assembly, the statement said.
