Park rangers enter fray in West Africa's battle with militants

General view of the W National Park in northern Benin April 21, 2019. Picture taken April 21, 2019. Julian Chevillot-African Parks /Handout via REUTERS

DAKAR (Reuters) - When a dozen suspected Islamist militants from a neighbouring country were spotted riding motorcycles through the W National Park in northern Benin armed with AK-47 assault rifles, park rangers snapped into action.

From an operations room at their base, the park director and two senior ranger officers sent anti-poaching units to pursue the men who eventually fled into Nigeria, according to a confidential incident report reviewed by Reuters.