At least forty soldiers are killed in an attack on a military base, Chad’s president says

DAKAR, Senegal — Chad’s presidency said at least 40 soldiers were killed by unknown assailants during an attack on a military base in the country’s west on Sunday evening.

President Mahamat Deby Itno visited the base early Monday morning and announced the launch of a military operation to hunt down the attackers.

Chad has long struggled with an insurgency in the west of the country, near the border with Nigeria. Nine people were killed in June and more than 40 injured when a fire caused explosions at a military ammunition depot in the capital N’Djamena.

In March, an attack occurred that was blamed on the government Boko Haram killed seven soldiersreigniting fears of violence in the Lake Chad area after a period of peace following a successful operation launched by the Chadian army in 2020 to destroy the extremist group’s bases there. Schools, mosques and churches reopened and humanitarian organizations returned.

Boko Haram, which launched an insurgency against Western education more than a decade ago, is trying to introduce Islamic law in northeastern Nigeria. The insurgency has spread to neighboring West African countries, including Cameroon, Niger and Chad.

Chad, a country of nearly 18 million people, has suffered political unrest both before and after a controversial presidential election that resulted in Deby Itno’s victory. He had led the country as interim president during the period of military rule that followed his father’s death in 2021.