INTERNATIONAL- Chad President Mahama Idriss Deby has launched a security operation to track and neutralize several hundred Boko Haram fighters who attacked and killed more than 40 Chad government troops in the Lake Chad Basin.
The Chad Basin is shared by Cameroon, Nigeria, Niger and Chad and President Deby arrived in the area yesterday Monday 28th 2024 and assisted in the burial of his soldiers.
President Idriss Deby has ordered that flags be flown at half-mast and that all radio and tv stations in the central African states should play only religious music for three days from October 28 at midnight after visiting Ngouboua, a western village in Lake Chad, on the island of Bakaram, near the border with Nigeria where Boko Haram fighters killed at least 40 Chad government troops on Sunday night.
Video images showed President Deby dressed in a military uniform and present at the burial of soldiers killed and after the burials, the President announced the launch of a military operation with fresh troops deployed to Lake Chad, to search out and eliminate members of the terror group hiding in the large area.
President Deby vowed that as the supreme commander of government troops and guarantor of the security and safety of civilians, and that he has ordered Chad’s military to protect civilians and their property by tracking and eliminating Boko Haram terrorists who committed atrocious acts on government troops and are hiding in the vast Lake Chad.
Chad officials noted that the operation codenamed, “Haskanite” is a strong and resilient plant that grows in deserts and in the Lake Chad area and the deployed government troops are experienced and have the equipment necessary to defeat the jihadists.
Chad Military officials say they estimate the number of soldiers in the jihadist attacking force was 300 and that the surprise assault and several dozen government soldiers were injured.
According to Chad’s military, scores of the attackers were killed but the fighters succeeded to escape with some dead bodies and seized weapons and several civilians either died or were injured in the attack and President Deby has ordered that all civilians and troops receive medical care free of charge.
Chad’s military says the heavily armed jihadist fighters took control of the Barracks before torching vehicles, motorcycles and buildings equipped with heavy arms and they disappeared in the waters of Lake Chad and surrounding villages.
A Conflict Resolution Specialist at Cameroon’s University of Maroua, Prof Saibou Issa has said that it will be difficult for Chad to singlehandedly fight the jihadists in Lake Chad saying that it is obvious that poverty and hardship push Boko Haram fighters who either surrendered or were weakened by the firepower of forces from Cameroon, Nigeria, Chad and Niger to rejoin smaller jihadist groups in Lake Chad.
He said that Lake Chad, which serves as a hideout for jihadist groups, is vast and only joint efforts from states that share the lake can stop militants, who are becoming more active and said the militants attack mainly for supplies and seize weapons from both armed groups and government troops in Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria.
Chad’s government says it has informed the Multinational Joint Task Force of the Lake Chad Basin Commission made up of 11,000 troops and rescue workers from Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria to assist in a renewed push against the terror group.
The United Nations said that over 40,000 people have been killed and 3 million have fled their homes in Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad since 2009, when fighting between Nigerian government troops and Boko Haram militants degenerated into an armed conflict and spread to neighbouring countries of Cameroon, Niger and Chad.
Additional Reporting from Associated Press
