Benin 2020 OSAC Crime & Safety Report This is an annual report produced in conjunction with the Regional Security Office at the U.S. Embassy in Cotonou. OSAC encourages travelers to use this report to gain baseline knowledge of security conditions in Benin. For more in-depth information, review OSAC’s Benin country page for original OSAC reporting, consular messages, and contact information, some of which may be available only to private-sector representatives with an OSAC password. Travel Advisory The current U.S. Department of State Travel Advisory at the date of this report’s publication assesses Benin at Level 1, indicating travelers should exercise normal precautions. Some areas have increased risk. Reconsider travel to Park Pendjari, Park W and adjacent hunting zones, and other areas near Benin's northern border with Burkina Faso, due to terrorism and kidnapping. Exercise increased caution in urban areas due to crime. Review OSAC’s report, Understanding the Consular Travel Advisory System. Overall Crime and Safety Situation Crime Threats The U.S. Department of State has assessed Cotonou as being a CRITICAL-threat location for crime directed at or affecting official U.S. government interests. A broad spectrum of criminal activity occurs in Cotonou. Most crimes affecting U.S. citizens are crimes of opportunity (e.g. pickpocketing, purse snatching, theft of valuables from vehicles, assaults, residential burglaries). In particular, low-level criminal activity occurs in areas of congregation, particularly in the Dantokpa Market and on Cotonou’s beaches. Criminals may take advantage of foreigners attempting to navigate the crowded markets or leaving their belongings unattended. Travelers should avoid the Dantokpa market between dusk and dawn, and the beaches fronting Cotonou’s city center at all hours. Robbery and muggings occur along the Boulevard de la Marina (the main thoroughfare fronting the U.S. Embassy), on the beaches near hotels international visitors frequent, within the Haie Vive and Les Cocotiers neighborhoods (near popular bars and restaurants), and elsewhere throughout the city. Most reported incidents involve the threat or use of force by armed persons, with injuries rarely occurring when victims comply with aggressor demands. Criminals targeted U.S. Embassy and other diplomatic personnel living and working in the safest neighborhoods of Cotonou throughout 2019. The most recent event of note was the robbery of four western visitors on a beach directly in front of their hotel; suspects armed with knives stole several thousand dollars in an incident that happened less than 500 meters from the U.S. Embassy. Review OSAC’s report, All That You Should Leave Behind. The Embassy is aware of several armed robberies in 2019 involving assault rifles. Criminals have also used pistols, knives, and machetes during the commission of armed robberies. Most attacks end without violence if the victim cooperates, and often occur late at night or in the early morning hours. Locals report that the mornings are not safe until around 0630. Robberies are generally crimes of opportunity, with the perpetrators targeting vulnerable victims and seeking cash/valuables. The typical modus operandi consists of two to four perpetrators traveling on motorcycles/scooters and targeting victims walking alone in poorly illuminated areas. One or two perpetrators usually jump off the motorcycle with a knife/machete and rob the victim. Robbery victims should comply with the demands of perpetrators, as resisting may cause the situation to escalate violently. Sexual assaults do occur and are usually associated with alcohol-related incidents. Some victims have reported that perpetrators used date-rape drugs to assault them. In 2019, the Regional Security Office received information regarding multiple sexual assaults and robberies involving the possible use of drugs. There have been numerous carjackings and robberies on roads after dark, some of which of which resulted in murder when the driver refused to comply with assailant demands. Carjacking is especially prevalent in rural areas, and many cases involve armed bandits placing barricades in the roadway to slow or halt vehicles. This tactic occurs frequently at the conclusion of the rainy season when vegetation is lush, providing adequate concealment. In 2019, armed assailants stopped a motorcade belonging to an expatriate NGO on the road between Cotonou and Parakou. The assailants fired on the vehicles to ensure compliance. The assailants took the occupants out of the vehicles, stripped them of all their belongings, and left them by the side of the road as they fled in the NGO vehicles. Far more common, and primarily affecting the local population, are motojackings. Using similar tactics as carjackers or moto-riding bandits, criminals will surround a moto rider and threaten them with a weapon as they forcibly take their moto. Attempted and successful motojackings affected several U.S. Embassy local contract guards and household staff members in 2019. Residential burglaries are also very common in Cotonou, and throughout Benin. Significant investment in residential security measures (e.g. perimeter walls, concertina wire, window/door grilles, alarms), including 24-hour contract guards often mitigate the dangers of burglaries and force criminals to look for less secure targets. Still, many burglaries occur in neighborhood containing U.S. Embassy residences. Review OSAC’s reports, Hotels: The Inns and Outs and Considerations for Hotel Security. Review OSAC’s reports, The Overseas Traveler’s Guide to ATM Skimmers & Fraud and Taking Credit. Cybersecurity Issues Cybercrime is a concern. The Embassy frequently receives reports from U.S. citizens residing in the U.S. who have become victims of online financial scams originating (or claiming to originate) in Benin. These scams typically involve a con artist attempting to convince a victim to send money. These schemes can include lotteries, online dating services, inheritance notices, work permits/job offers, bank overpayments, or requests of assistance from a “new friend in trouble.” The Embassy strongly urges U.S. citizens not to send any money; any funds you send are likely unrecoverable. Victims should halt contact with scammers immediately. Do not attempt to recover funds in person. Report the matter immediately to The Internet Crime Complaint Center, a partnership among the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C), and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BIA). Refer to the fraud warning on the Embassy’s website for more information. Review OSAC’s reports, Cybersecurity Basics, Best Practices for Maximizing Security on Public Wi-Fi, Traveling with Mobile Devices: Trends & Best Practices, and Satellite Phones: Critical or Contraband? Transportation-Safety Situation Road Safety and Road Conditions Traffic conditions can be treacherous throughout Benin – including in Cotonou and even during the day. Avoid driving at night outside of urban areas. It is not unusual to see pedestrian traffic on major motorways and side roads at all hours. Motorcyclists often do not use turn signals or headlights after dark, and often drive against the flow of traffic on divided roads. Overall, vehicle maintenance and upkeep of large trucks and buses are poor. Large trucks break down or overturn frequently due to lack of maintenance and poor road conditions. Many road accidents result in death. Medical care, especially emergency trauma support, is substandard or nonexistent nationwide. Road conditions deteriorate noticeably outside of Cotonou. Even the trunk road linking Cotonou to Malanville on Benin’s border with Niger has severely deteriorated sections. Roads in Benin are generally in poor condition and are often impassable during the rainy season, especially if they are unpaved. The Government of Benin is undertaking large roadbuilding projects in Cotonou and across the country. Use four-wheel drive vehicles with full spare tires and emergency equipment. Travel in a convoy of two or more vehicles outside of urban areas. Private vehicles must carry certain road emergency/safety items or risk a substantial fine. The U.S. Embassy prohibits travel by diplomatic personnel outside of metropolitan areas after dusk, and urges all U.S. citizens to avoid night driving. Rural roads double as sidewalks, congregation areas, and locations to move livestock more easily. The chances of road collisions with a human being or animal at night are extremely high. Gasoline smuggled from Nigeria is widely available in glass bottles at informal roadside stands throughout much of the country. This gasoline is of unreliable quality, often containing water or other contaminants that can damage or disable a vehicle. Purchase fuel only from official service stations. There are periodic gas shortages, especially in the north of the country where there are few service stations; travelers to these areas should bring additional fuel with them. Review OSAC’s reports, Road Safety Abroad, Driving Overseas: Best Practices, and Evasive Driving Techniques; and read the State Department’s webpage on driving and road safety abroad. Public Transportation Conditions Avoid public transportation. Benin’s limited public transportation system is poor, even in major metropolitan areas. Most buses and taxis lack proper maintenance, though several new taxi companies have appeared in Cotonou since 2017. The most common form of transport is licensed motorcycle taxis (zemijahns);