In a Tuesday attack on a military unit in the Lake Chad area close to the Nigerian border, Boko Haram insurgents murdered at least 10 Chadian troops, according to a statement from the Chadian administration.
The unit was sent to the island of Bouka-Toullorom, between the towns of Ngouboua and Kaiga, where Boko Haram has recently launched many offensives, as a preliminary step toward establishing an army base there.
According to the statement, militants attacked early on Tuesday, killing about 10 persons and injuring many more.
More than 350,000 people have died as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency, which began in northeastern Nigeria in 2009 and has now displaced millions of people.
The insurgents has spread to the west of the nation’s swampy Lake Chad region, where Chadian, Nigerian, and Nigeran soldiers have been battling extremists for years.
In March 2020, Boko Haram terrorists attacked Chad, killing 92 soldiers and injuring an additional 47.
The interim administration of Chad has committed to more than double the number of its armed forces by the end of 2022 to address security concerns, such as the dangers posed by extremists affiliated with al Qaeda and the Islamic State.
Along its northern border with Libya, the massive Central African nation’s army is also engaged in combat with armed rebels.
President Idriss Deby was murdered in April 2021 while supporting soldiers engaged in combat with rebels headquartered in Libya. This led to the establishment of the transitional military administration.