At least 20 Chadian soldiers were killed on Thursday by suspected Boko Haram insurgents following an attack on their patrol around the Lake Chad area.
Army spokesman, General Azem Bermandoa, said the attack occurred at Tchoukou Telia, an island North-West of the capital N’Djamena, adding that the insurgents were later repealed by the army.
He added troops from a multinational force the region had reinforced, in order to seal off the locality and track the insurgents.
“We deplore the death of about 20 of our soldiers during a routine patrol in the locality,” Bermandoa said without giving specific details of the attack.
But Tchoukou Telia’s deputy prefect, Haki Djiddi, while confirming the incident said “24 troops were killed, several were wounded and others have scattered into the countryside.”
He added that the troops were resting after returning from a patrol when they were attacked by Boko Haram.
Boko Haram insurgents and its splinter group, Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), are fighting to set up caliphates in the West African region and further its expansionists agenda.
According to the Institute for Security Studies (ISS Africa), the Islamic State (IS) ordered the removal of Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, in May 2021 to open the way for ISWAP’s – and therefore its own – growth.
ISS, in its report, added that ISWAP is being restructured into four caliphates – Sambisa Forest, Alagarno Forest (nicknamed Timbuktu), Tumbuma, and the Lake Chad islands, each with its own semi-autonomous leadership and in Borno State, North-east Nigeria.