At least five people including a pregnant woman and a 12-year-old girl were killed in Bante community in Benin Republic by unidentified persons.

According to the central commissioner of Bantè, the victims were transferred to a hospital for treatment, but all died a few hours later.

The Beninese Press agency, Tuesday said the victims were butchered with knives by the attackers in the village of Aguele, in the district of Bope. 

However, no further details of the massacre have been released to explain the identities of the criminals behind the killing and the circumstances leading to incident.

The police in a statement said they have launched an investigation to determine the cause, arrest the perpetrators of this criminal act and bring them to justice.