7 security forces and 5 rangers killed in Benin national park as jihadi violence takes root

COTONOU, Benin (AP) — Seven members of Beninese security forces and five rangers  working with a conservation nonprofit have been killed in an attack by an armed group in Benin’s National Park W. The African Parks conservation nonprofit said in a statement on Saturday that the attack in the park that is close to the borders with Burkina Faso and Niger happened on Wednesday. It is the latest in a surge in violence in which jihadis from the conflict-battered Sahel region have spread further into West Africa, targeting coastal states like Benin.