Search (Benin)

OSAC members operating in Benin’s far northern departments face an increasing threat from violent Islamist extremists established in southeastern Burkina Faso. On June 26, the U.S. Embassy in Cotonou released a security...

Over the past 18 months, piracy incidents emanating from Nigeria have proliferated in frequency, tactical diversity, and geographic spread throughout the Gulf of Guinea. In particular, maritime kidnapping-for-ransom inci...

The CDC has issued a blanket Level 2 Travel Health Notice for Polio in parts of Africa and Asia. The notice urges enhanced safety precautions for travelers to 22 countries whose limited health systems, poor sanitation pr...

Political unrest, which is unusual in Benin, intensified rapidly in Cotonou, the country’s capital, the afternoon of May 1 through May 3. This escalation follows contentious National Assembly elections held on April 28 a...

Elections in Africa often increase the possibility of civil unrest. Even in instances when the electoral process goes smoothly, the affected state will often experience some disruptions that could impact private-sector o...

UPDATE: OSAC is reissuing this report originally issued in March in the midst of a new outbreak of Lassa Fever, a potentially fatal acute viral illness. On January 22, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) declar...

Starting in mid-February, a number of attacks targeting local security forces have occurred in the Est/East region of Burkina Faso, with a notable crescendo activity in July and August. The Tapoa, Kompienga, and Komondja...

Benin is at risk of experiencing greater levels of religious radicalism over the near term. Although the small West African country does not have a recent history of sectarian tensions or inter-religious violence, OSAC c...

Piracy and maritime crime in the Gulf of Guinea dropped by nearly a third from 2014 to 2015. The Nigerian government’s decision in January to extend for at least another year the amnesty program for Niger Delta militants...

The following is a white paper released in conjunction with OSAC's 30th Annual Briefing, held November 17-19, 2015. A notable security trend in West Africa in 2015 was the regional expansion of terrorism in the Lake Chad...