An overnight attack by Boko Haram left around 40 Chadian troops dead near the Nigerian border, prompting a military operation to pursue the militants, the government and local sources reported on Monday.
Boko Haram members targeted a garrison housing over 200 Chadian soldiers late Sunday in the Lake Chad region, an area troubled by various armed groups, local sources informed media.
According to a statement from the presidency, the attack occurred near Ngouboua in the country’s west, “tragically resulting in approximately 40 fatalities.” Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno visited the scene early Monday and initiated an operation “to pursue the attackers and track them to their most remote hideouts,” the statement continued.
The unit commander of the garrison was among the dead, a senior officer reported on condition of anonymity.
The attackers “managed to seize ammunition and equipment before retreating,” the officer added.
Around 20 individuals were also wounded, according to military sources.
“Boko Haram members took control of the garrison, seized weapons, set fire to vehicles equipped with heavy arms, and left,” said one local source, requesting anonymity. The surprise assault targeted a Chadian army post near the Nigerian border late Sunday evening, military sources said. “Yes, we have suffered many casualties, but the situation is under control, and our forces are actively pursuing the enemy,” the regional governor, General Saleh Haggar Tidjani, told media.
– Frequent Attacks –
The Lake Chad region, characterised by vast water bodies and swamps, is dotted with numerous islets that serve as hideouts for jihadist groups like Boko Haram and its offshoot, the Islamic State in West Africa (ISWAP), which frequently launch attacks on the nation’s military and civilians.
Boko Haram began an insurgency in Nigeria in 2009, resulting in over 40,000 deaths and the displacement of two million people, subsequently spreading to neighbouring countries.
In March 2020, the Chadian army suffered its heaviest one-day losses in the area, with around 100 soldiers killed in a raid on the lake’s Bohoma peninsula.
That attack spurred then-president Idriss Deby Itno – the father of the current president – to launch an anti-jihadist offensive.
The current president “wishes to reassure the local population and the defence and security forces of his unwavering commitment to defend and secure the entire nation,” the presidency stated on Monday.
The International Organisation for Migration recorded more than 220,000 people displaced due to armed group attacks in the Lake Chad province as of June.
The Chadian leader recently reshuffled the armed forces’ leadership, which sources suggested was linked to opposition from certain officers regarding his position on the war in Sudan.
N’Djamena has been accused of funnelling weapons from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, a militia that has been engaged in conflict with the Sudanese army for over a year.
Both the UAE and Chad have denied these allegations.
According to the United Nations, the Sudanese conflict has caused tens of thousands of deaths and displaced millions.