Boko Haram attack on Chad army base kills at least 24 people

By Rédaction Africanews with AFP, AP

Chad’s armed forces said at least 24 soldiers have been killed in an overnight attack by Boko Haram militants on an army post in the Lake Chad region.

The area has long been threatened by the Nigeria-based group, which is known for carrying out assaults in neighbouring countries.

Army sources say the raid at the Barka Tolorom base late on Monday left 46 wounded on the Chadian side. An administrative official in the region said the situation was now under control.

The military site is on the shores of Lake Chad, which straddles Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria, and Chad. Its islands provide a refuge for various militants, including Boko Haram and other radical Islamist groups.

In a post on Facebook on Tuesday, Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Déby offered his condolences to the families of the dead soldiers.

The army has increasingly come under fire from Boko Haram in the Lake Chad region, with an October 2024 attack leaving some 40 dead in the Chadian army’s ranks.

Recent months have also seen a surge in attacks by the group’s JAS faction, including kidnappings and attacks on advanced army positions,

Déby said the country would continue fighting, “with renewed determination,” until the threat from militant groups was completely eradicated

In response to the October 2024 attack, Deby launched a counter-offensive which he vowed to “personally” lead on the ground for two weeks.

After that offensive ended in February 2025, the army insisted that Boko Haram had “no more sanctuary on Chadian territory.”

Lake Chad’s islands and marshes also serve as a haven for Boko Haram’s rival splinter group, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).