African securityBoko Haram militants launch first attack against targets in Chad
Boko Haram is continuing to expand its campaign of terror beyond Nigeria: Overnight, Boko haram militants have attacked a Chadian village, killing several people in the first attack by the Nigerian Islamist group against a target in Chad. Boko Haram militants, in control of a vast swath of territory in north-east Nigeria, have already launched a number of cross-border attacks in recent weeks against two other neighbors of Nigeria – Cameroon and Niger. The group’s declared goal is to carve out an Islamist emirate around the Lake Chad area which borders Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, and Niger.
Boko Haram is continuing to expand its campaign of terror beyond Nigeria: Overnight, Boko haram militants have attacked a Chadian village, killing several people in the first attack by the Nigerian Islamist group against a target in Chad.
“They came on board three canoes and succeeded in killing about ten people before being pushed back by the army,” said a resident of the village of Ngouboua on the shores of Lake Chad.
The BBC reports that a Chadian security source said that about thirty militants attacked the village in the early hours of Friday’s morning, setting houses ablaze.
Boko Haram militants, in control of a vast swath of territory in north-east Nigeria, have already launched a number of cross-border attacks in recent weeks against two other neighbors of Nigeria – Cameroon and Niger. The group’s declared goal is to carve out an Islamist emirate around the Lake Chad area which borders Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, and Niger.
Chad’s army, regarded as one of the best in the region, has joined a regional offensive against the Islamist group (see “Nigeria’s neighbors joining war on Boko Haram,” HSNW, 4 February 2015; and “Boko Haram expands attacks as Chad’s military joins fighting,” HSNW, 2 February 2015). A Chadian army spokesperson said Chad’s forces have killed hundreds of Boko Haram fighters in the past ten days. Chadian fighter jets attacked Boko Haram positions around the city of Gamboru on Nigeria’s north-east border with Cameroon, a town the insurgents had held since last August. On Thursday (eight days ago), a Chadian army ground force liberated Malumfatori by evicting the Islamists from the border town, which was under their sway for months.
About 10,000 Nigerians have been killed by Boko Haram in 2014. Since the Islamists’ campaign was launched in 2009, approximately 3.2 million people in Nigeria have fled their homes, with many living in makeshift camps.
On Tuesday Nigeria announced it had launched an investigation after reports that Nigerian army’s commanders and soldiers, and members of the security forces, have engaged in rapes, child trafficking, and other abuses in the camps.
The government cited the conflict with Boko Haram as the reason for the postponement of Nigeria’s presidential and parliamentary elections from 14 February to 28 March.
