At least 23 Chadian soldiers were killed and 26 others wounded after Boko Haram fighters attacked a military post at Barka Tolorom in the Lake Chad region late Monday, underscoring the persistent threat militants still pose despite repeated government offensives. Chad’s army said the assault targeted a position on one of the lake’s islands, an area long used as a refuge by Boko Haram and other armed Islamist groups operating across the borders of Chad, Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon.
President Mahamat Idriss Déby offered condolences to the families of the dead and condemned the raid as a “cowardly” attack, while officials said the situation had since been brought under control. The attack is the latest sign that the Lake Chad basin remains volatile, even after Chad’s military declared earlier this year that Boko Haram no longer had sanctuary on its territory. The Barka Tolorom base sits on the shores of Lake Chad, whose islands and marshes have for years provided cover for Boko Haram and its splinter factions, including ISWAP. The insurgency, which began in northeastern Nigeria in 2009, has repeatedly spilled across borders and destabilized surrounding countries. U.N. and regional estimates say the conflict has killed thousands and displaced millions across the wider basin.
The latest raid follows a pattern of rising attacks on Chadian forces in the area. In October 2024, another Boko Haram assault killed around 40 Chadian soldiers, prompting Déby to launch a counteroffensive that he said he would personally oversee. Yet the new attack suggests the militants remain capable of mounting deadly strikes against exposed frontline positions. Chad says a “significant number” of attackers were also killed as the assault was repelled. But with Boko Haram’s JAS faction and rival ISWAP both still active around the lake, the raid highlights the continuing fragility of security in one of Africa’s most militarized conflict zones.
