Chad’s military announced that it had eliminated close to 300 Boko Haram fighters and suffered 27 troop casualties in a four-month operation against the terrorist group that concluded on Tuesday.
In response to a Boko Haram assault on a base in the Lake Chad region that resulted in the deaths of 40 soldiers, President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno initiated the campaign in October, according to an official report.
Chad is one of the four nations surrounding Lake Chad that have been combating Boko Haram and its affiliates over the last decade after the group’s insurgency in Nigeria spilt over into neighbouring countries.
The ongoing conflict has claimed the lives of 40,000 individuals across these four countries and has forced two million people to evacuate their homes.
At a press conference, military spokesperson General Chanane Issakha Acheik reported that Operation Haskanite resulted in the deaths of “297 terrorists,” while the military experienced the loss of 24 soldiers and three civilians. He confirmed that the operation has now concluded.
The 40 soldiers killed in the October 27 attack on the Ngouboua base, located near the Nigerian border, were not included in the most recent tally.
The leader of Chad’s military directed the operation against Boko Haram for two weeks and threatened to withdraw from a joint task force with Cameroon, Niger, and Nigeria, citing its ineffectiveness in combating the jihadists.
Idriss Deby reiterated this threat after a new encounter with Boko Haram fighters in November, which resulted in the deaths of 15 Chadian soldiers.
The country also terminated its military cooperation agreement with former colonial power France in January, leading to the withdrawal of all French troops.
Military sources indicate that Turkish instructors arrived this month to train Chadian forces in operating drones acquired from Turkey.
The numerous islets in Lake Chad provide refuge for jihadist groups such as Boko Haram and its offshoot, Islamic State in West Africa (ISWAP), which frequently launch assaults on both the military and civilians.
