Tag Archives: Lake Chad Islands

Chadian Army Smokes Out Boko Haram Militants Hiding On Lake Chad Islands

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Heavy fighting broke out Monday between the Chadian army and Nigeria’s Boko Haram jihadists, security and local sources said.

“Violent clashes” are under way near Baga Sola, one of the main Chadian towns in the lake that straddles Chad, Cameroon, Nigeria and Niger, a Chadian security source said, adding that Chadian forces had earlier “intercepted fleeing Boko Haram elements” around 20 kilometres (12 miles) to the southeast.

A source close to the local authorities said a “major search operation” was under way for Boko Haram militants hiding out on the lake’s islands.

Credit: AFP

Routed Boko Haram Fighters Hiding On Lake Chad Islands

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Boko Haram militants driven out of strongholds by a regional military offensive are increasingly taking refuge on remote islands in Lake Chad, terrorising locals or recruiting others.

The lake is where borders meet for Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger, which are leading the fight against the extremists and their bloody six-year insurgency that has prompted an armed international response. “You see those islands, toward Nigeria? I used to go there to sell my harvest,” said Mustapha, a farmer from Ngouboua, a Chadian village near the border with Nigeria.

“But with Boko Haram it’s become too dangerous. We don’t move without a military escort,” he added.

Though the military – with major help from its neighbours – has since February retaken a series of towns and villages held by the rebels, the insurgency that has left 13 000 dead has not been crushed.

Theft of cattle, rice and corn

Some of the fighters scattered by the government victories have instead fallen back to the sanctuary of remote or inhospitable areas around the lake. “Boko Haram are under pressure and some of them are taking refuge in the middle of the lake,” on islands with swampy forests that are difficult for the army to reach, said a Chadian security source.

“Because they are hungry, they are attacking villagers for food,” the source added.

The theft of cattle, rice and corn have become common on the Chadian islands and mainland near Nigeria. Boko Haram fighters have been blamed for at least two attacks on a village near Chadian market town Tchoukou Telia. “They stole up to 500 steers,” said Al Hadji Mbodou Mai, a shopkeeper in Ngouboua.

That town was victim of Boko Haram attacks in recent months, but now is “secured” by a heavy military presence, said local police commander Saleh Ali. “There are a lot of problems on the surrounding islands,” he added.

Fighting the Islamists in the remote, swampy areas is sure to get more difficult when the rainy season arrives in June. Also, experts have warned that hit-and-run attacks by the group could increase amid the added military pressure.

Read More: news24