Islamic militants killed at least 54 soldiers in northern Benin last week, the country’s government has said.

The attack took place in the west African nation’s north-eastern Alibori department, which borders Burkina Faso, Niger and Nigeria.

Benin’s government originally said eight soldiers had died in last Thursday’s attack, but significantly revised the death toll up on Wednesday.

Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM), a Mali-based terrorist group linked to Al-Qaeda, said it was behind the killings.

It claimed that it had killed 70 soldiers, according to the SITE Intelligence Group.

Benin has seen terrorist activity increase in recent years, with extremist groups that operate in the Sahel region launching more cross-border attacks.

The W-Arly-Pendjari Complex, a border area between Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger, is particularly affected by this violence.

Speaking about the latest attack, Benin government spokesperson Wilfried Léandre Houngbédji said that neighbouring countries need to do more to combat the threat posed by jihadists.

“The points where these attacks of 17 April took place are on the border, so you can understand that if, on the other side of the border, there was a force like ours, these attacks would not take place in this way or would not even occur,” he said.

“The soldiers who have fallen are our children, our parents, our friends.”

JNIM also claimed responsibility for an attack in early January that left 28 Beninese soldiers dead.