Benin , a poor former French colony on the West African coast with many border issues, is surrounded by Togo to the west, Burkina Faso to the northwest, Niger to the north, and Nigeria to the east. Dissatisfaction with election results in April 2005 and increasing unrest in neighboring Togo triggered a flow of nearly 15,000 Togolese to border camps and as many as 3,000 to the largest city in Benin, Cotonou. The Burkino Faso episode described above is a modest affair: rival villages on either side of the border periodically clash over local land rights. The conflict between the Baribas in Benin and the Mossis in Burkina Faso has not provoked confrontation between the two armies, although both have been mobilized to secure peace along their respective borders in this most recent round. A land dispute over ownership of islands in the Niger River between Niger and Benin dating back to independence in 1960 was finally resolved in July 2005 when the International Court of Justice awarded most to Niger. Both governments have promised publicly to uphold the decision.

Regarding the longest border, neither Benin nor its neighbor Nigeria are able to control the rampant smuggling or other criminal activity along their shared frontier effectively. Nigeria occasionally dabbles in protectionist polices in an effort to prop up local industries. In 2003, the country banned imports of sugar, sweets, beer, school workbooks, and envelopes. Benin border communities and black marketers quickly established illicit trade relationships, usually in exchange for Nigerian fuel, for which, since it is the continent’s largest supplier, the prices are often lowest. The Nigerian government responded rashly in August 2003 by unilaterally closing the border between the two countries, but regional outcries against such a violation of the free-trade regime across West Africa prompted a policy reversal in six days.