Report

Benin pays tribute to the five soldiers killed in the Pendjari park

Audio 01:25

Benin paid tribute to its five soldiers who fell on April 11 after jumping on an artisanal mine in the Pendjari park.

(illustrative image) STEFAN HEUNIS / AFP

Text by: RFI Follow

2 mins

On Wednesday, May 25, at Camp Ghézo in Cotonou, the country's largest garrison, Benin paid tribute to its five soldiers who fell on April 11 after jumping on an artisanal mine in Pendjari Park.

The ceremony, chaired by the Vice-President of the Republic, took place in the presence of the high military hierarchy, ministers and a few hundred people including the families of the victims.

Advertisement

Read more

With our correspondent in Cotonou

,

Headquarters of the staff, place of arms, a brass band and five sections are mobilized to serve as troops of honor.

They face the official rostrum and perform music and salute for the occasion.

No coffin, we learn that for various reasons the bodies were quickly buried.

The portraits of the 5 soldiers are placed on chairs, on the ground and in front of each a sober crown.

Heavy and formal atmosphere.

At the desk, the Minister of Defense declares that not all deaths have the same meaning.

It describes the identity and background of each soldier.

The Vice-President of the Republic awards each person the title of Commander of the National Order, pinning a medal on the cushion placed in front of each portrait.

►

Very moved, General Fructueux Gbaguidi, the new Chief of Staff, told us at the end of the funeral tribute: “ 

»

For orphans and widows, the State has undertaken to take care of them.

Benin has experienced sixteen attacks and recorded thirteen deaths since September 2021, according to a count by the Vice-President, who believes that "

".

Newsletter

Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

google-play-badge_EN

• Benign

• Terrorism