N’Djamena, Chad – In the wake of a series of deadly attacks by Boko Haram in the volatile Lake Chad Basin, Chad has announced a three-day period of national mourning.
The mourning period, which begins at midnight on May 6 and concludes at midnight on May 9, honors the fallen soldiers, including two generals, who lost their lives in the recent ambushes.
The attacks, which occurred on May 4 and 6, followed a prior assault on the Barka Tolorom military base near Lake Chad, resulting in the deaths of at least 24 soldiers.
The Chadian army reported that a “significant number “of attackers were also killed during these engagements.
The Lake Chad region, a vast area of water and marshland shared by Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger, and Chad, has seen a surge in activity by Boko Haram’s JAS faction in recent months. This has included kidnappings and attacks on security forces.
The region’s islands and marshes also serve as a sanctuary for Boko Haram’s rival faction, the ISIL affiliate in West Africa Province (ISWAP).
In October 2024, Boko Haram launched an attack on a military base in the Lake Chad Basin that left approximately 40 Chadian soldiers dead.
In response, Chad President Mahamat Deby initiated a counteroffensive aimed at “destroying Boko Haram’s capacity to cause harm. Officials commented on the matter. Chad, a landlocked Central African nation, has grappled with years of instability, marked by rebellions, armed groups, and coups.
The prolonged economic downturn has made Chad one of the poorest nations in Africa.
*Additional reporting by ImNews | Sources consulted: 5*
—
This original article was produced by the ImNews editorial team
Source: aljazeera
Source: Al Jazeera Staff
