Boko Haram attack kills forty Chadian soldiers near Nigerian border – Firstpost

An attack by jihadist group Boko Haram resulted in the deaths of about forty Chadian soldiers near the Nigerian border, prompting the Chadian army to launch operations to hunt down the attackers.

The attack took place late Sunday on a garrison in the Lake Chad region, which has been a hotspot for several armed groups. Following the incident, President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno visited the site and announced a military operation to pursue the militants responsible for the attack.

The garrison’s unit commander was among the dead, a senior officer said on condition of anonymity.

The attackers “had time to seize ammunition and equipment before withdrawing,” the officer added.

According to military sources, about twenty people were also injured.

“Boko Haram members took control of the garrison, seized the weapons, burned vehicles equipped with heavy weapons and left,” said a local source, who declined to be named.

The surprise attack hit a Chadian army position near the Nigerian border late on Sunday evening, military sources said.

“We have many casualties, yes, but the situation is under control and our forces are pursuing the enemy on the ground,” regional governor General Saleh Haggar Tidjani told AFP.

Frequent attacks

In a vast area of ​​water and swamps, the numerous islets in the Lake Chad region serve as hideouts for jihadist groups, such as Boko Haram and its offshoot Islamic State in West Africa (ISWAP), which regularly carry out attacks on the military and civilians of the country.

Boko Haram launched an insurgency in Nigeria in 2009, killing more than 40,000 people and forcing two million to flee. The organization has since spread to neighboring countries.

In March 2020, the Chadian army suffered its worst single-day losses ever in the region, when around 100 troops were killed in an attack on the Bohoma peninsula near the lake.

The attack prompted then-President Idriss Deby Itno – the father of the current president – ​​to launch an anti-jihadist offensive.

The current president “would like to reassure the population of the area and the defense and security forces of his continued commitment to defend and secure the entire country,” the presidency added on Monday.

The International Office for Migration recorded more than 220,000 people displaced by attacks by armed groups in Lake Chad province in June.

The Chadian leader recently reshuffled the leadership of the armed forces, a move sources said was linked to some officers’ opposition to his position on the war in Sudan.

N’Djamena is accused of funneling weapons from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, a militia that has been fighting the Sudanese army for more than a year.

Both the UAE and Chad have denied the allegations.

According to the United Nations, the conflict in Sudan has left tens of thousands dead and millions displaced.

With input from authorities.