With Coronavirus at the forefront of everyone’s minds, little thought is being given to the spread of Islamic extremism in Chad and neighboring countries.
On March 24th, Boko Haram attacked a Chadian military post, killing 92 Chadian soldiers. It was the deadliest attack ever by Boko Haram against Chadian military forces. The attack occurred in the Lake Chad region, a few hours northwest of N’Djamena, Chad’s capital.
On March 31st, the Chadian military went on an 8-day offensive, claiming to have killed over 1,000 Boko Haram militants. Chad lost 52 soldiers and there were another 200 wounded.
Chad is part of a multi-national force that is trying to combat Islamic extremism in the Lake Chad region which borders Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria, with the militants being based in Nigeria.
Though the counterattack was considered successful, Chadian president Idriss Deby has stated that Chad will no longer participate in military operations against the extremists outside of Chad’s borders.
Boko Haram previously proclaimed its allegiance to Isis. In 2016, part of the Boko Haram terrorist group broke off to form what is now called Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA). The atrocities by Boko Haram and ISWA have killed thousands and displaced well over 200,000 people.
Though Boko Haram has been most active in the Lake Chad region, they have also been attacking the Cameroonian border city of Kousseri which is only around 20 miles south of Chad’s capital of N’Djamena.
https://sofrep.com/news/chadian-military-claims-it-killed-1000-terrorists-in-a-multi-day-operation/
https://www.voanews.com/africa/cameroon-president-assists-militia-after-boko-haram-raids
https://www.voanews.com/africa/bombing-kills-10-triggers-renewed-boko-haram-fear-cameroon