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Chad on Tuesday urged increased international backing for counter-terrorism efforts across the Sahel, as Boko Haram militants claimed the lives of approximately 40 Chadian troops in a sudden ambush. The deadly assault underscores the persistent threat of extremist groups in the region and the growing need for enhanced global support in tackling terrorism.
The government reported on Tuesday that a jihadist group attacked a military garrison in the Lake Chad region late Sunday, killing some 40 “brave Chadian soldiers.” The region, known for instability due to various armed groups, continues to suffer from violence despite counter-terrorism efforts, government spokesman Abderaman Koulamallah confirmed in a statement.
Military sources reported that around 20 others were also injured in the attack, underscoring the heavy toll on Chadian forces.
“The government is calling on the international community to intensify its support and to reinforce assistance in counter-terrorism efforts in particular in the Sahel region and Lake Chad basin,” the statement said.
“Determined collective action is essential to eradicate this scourge which threatens the stability and the development of the entire region,” it added.
Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno on Monday launched an operation to hunt down the attackers and “security forces are currently in full pursuit of the assailants”, the statement also said.
France’s embassy in Chad posted a statement on Facebook on Tuesday, declaring its support for Chad’s counter-terrorism efforts. “France stands with Chad in the fight against terrorism,” the embassy stated, offering condolences to both the Chadian authorities and the bereaved families of the fallen soldiers.
Chad, led by the son of Idriss Deby Itno, a long-serving president who ruled for more than three decades, is the only country in the Sahel still hosting French troops, highlighting its strategic partnership with France.
The landlocked nation is surrounded by the Central African Republic, Sudan, Libya and Niger, which all host Russian paramilitary forces from the Wagner group.
Although the current president has sought closer ties with Moscow in recent months, talks to strengthen economic cooperation with Russia have yet to bear concrete results.
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In a vast expanse of water and swamps, the Lake Chad region’s countless islets serve as hideouts for jihadist groups, such as Boko Haram and its offshoot Islamic State in West Africa (ISWAP), who carry out regular attacks on the country’s army and civilians.
Boko Haram launched an insurgency in Nigeria in 2009, leaving more than 40,000 people dead and displacing two million, and the organisation has since spread to neighbouring countries.
In March 2020, the Chadian army suffered its biggest ever one-day losses in the region, when around 100 troops died in a raid on the lake’s Bohoma peninsula.
The government, as it did at the time, has declared three days of national mourning from Tuesday, with flags flying at half-mast and a ban on celebratory activities.
