40 Chadian soldiers killed in Boko Haram attack near Nigerian border – Firstpost

An attack by jihadist group Boko Haram resulted in the deaths of nearly 40 Chadian soldiers near the Nigerian border, prompting the Chadian military to launch an operation to track down the attackers.

The attack took place late Sunday at a garrison in the Lake Chad region, a hotspot for several armed groups. Following the incident, President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno visited the region and announced that a military operation would be carried out to pursue the militants responsible for the attack.

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

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

Military sources said that nearly 20 people were injured.

“Boko Haram members took control of the garrison, confiscated weapons, burned heavily armed vehicles and left,” said a local source, who wished to remain anonymous.

Military sources said the surprise attack hit a Chadian army position near the Nigerian border late Sunday evening.

“Yes, we have many casualties, 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

Numerous islets in the Lake Chad region, in a vast area of ​​water and swamp, serve as hideouts for jihadist groups such as Boko Haram and its Islamic State in West Africa (ISWAP), which launch regular attacks on the country’s military and civilians.

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

In March 2020, the Chadian army suffered its worst one-day losses ever in the region, when nearly 100 soldiers died in a raid on the lake’s Bohoma peninsula.

The attack prompted then-president Idriss Deby Itno (father of the current president) to launch an anti-jihad offensive.

The presidency added in its statement on Monday that the current president “wants to reassure the defense and security forces, as well as the people in the region, of his unwavering determination to defend and secure the entire country.”

In June, the International Bureau of Migration recorded that more than 220,000 people were displaced due to attacks by armed groups in Lake Chad state.

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

N’Djamena is accused of transferring weapons from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which have been fighting against the Sudanese army for more than a year.

Both the UAE and Chad denied the accusations.

The conflict in Sudan has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions, according to the United Nations.

With input from agencies.