At least ten Chadian military personnel were killed in an attack on Tuesday by suspected members of the jihadist group Boko Haram against a checkpoint located on an island in the Lake Chad basin (west).
The Chadian Presidency has indicated in a statement published on its official account on the social network Twitter that the attack was perpetrated on the island of Bouka-Toullorom, between the towns of Ngouboua and Kaiga», without claiming responsibility for now.
«This umpteenth surprise attack comes to confirm the active presence of the Boko Haram nebula in the Lake Chad basin and also gives reason to the transitional president (Mahamat Idriss Déby) for the existing danger, which justifies his visit a week ago to Baga Sola to galvanize the troops and reorganize the device», he said.
He added that the president «offers his condolences to the families of the soldiers who fell gloriously on the field of honor and wishes a speedy recovery to the wounded», while he ordered the government to implement «an appropriate response».
Presidential spokesman Brah Mahamat stressed that Déby «reiterates Chad’s firm commitment to end terrorism in Chad and the sub-region», while calling on the international community to «fully understand the real threat» and to «act accordingly».
The Lake Chad basin — on the border between Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon — is the scene of relatively frequent attacks by Boko Haram, which operates mainly in Nigeria, and its offshoot, Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA). Both groups have launched attacks in all the countries that share this border.
