The Chadian government on Tuesday, October 29, asked the international community to intensify its support in the fight against terrorism in the Sahel, a day after an attack by the Boko Haram group that killed about forty soldiers in the Lake Chad region ( west). .
This assault, carried out during the night from Sunday to Monday against a military base located on the island of Barkaram, “It cost the lives of about forty brave Chadian soldiers”according to the latest official press release, published on Tuesday by government spokesman Abderaman Koulamallah.
The attack also left around twenty people injured, according to military sources. “The government calls on the international community to intensify its support and reinforce aid in the fight against terrorism, in particular in the Sahel region and the Lake Chad basin”says the official press release. “Collective and determined action is essential to eradicate this evil that threatens the stability and development of the entire region”the text continues.
Recurrent attacks
Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Déby launched a counteroffensive on Monday and “Security forces are currently pursuing the attackers”according to the press release. For its part, the French embassy in Chad assured on Tuesday, in a Facebook post, that “France supports Chad in the fight against terrorism”sending his condolences to the authorities and to the families of the soldiers.
Chad, a poor, landlocked country of 18 million people, is the last Sahel country to host French soldiers. But between the Central African Republic, Sudan, Libya and Niger, it is now surrounded by countries that host, in various capacities, Russian paramilitary forces. President Déby has become closer to Moscow in recent months, but talks between the two countries on a possible reinforcement of their economic and military cooperation have not yet materialized.
Chadian soldiers are frequently targeted by Boko Haram in the Lake Chad region, a vast expanse of water and swamp dotted with islets that is home to fighters from the jihadist group or its breakaway branch, the Islamic State in West Africa (Iswap). , according to. to the English acronym). The Boko Haram insurgency appeared in 2009 in Nigeria, where it has since left some 40,000 dead and more than 2 million displaced, before spreading to bordering countries.
In March 2020, the group led a bloody offensive against another military base in the Lake Chad region, which left over a hundred dead, the largest losses ever recorded by the Chadian army. As then, starting Tuesday three days of national mourning were declared, with flags at half-mast and a ban on festive activities.
