local sources accuse the Chadian army of mistakenly killing “dozens” of fishermen in Nigeria

The Chadian counter-offensive against Boko Haram in the Lake Chad region, ” personally “ led by President Mahamat Idriss Déby, was accused Thursday October 31 by local fishermen and anti-jihadist militias of having mistakenly killed “tens” fishermen in Nigeria, wanting to target jihadists.

“A plane [de chasse] belonging to the Chadian army attacked fishermen on the island of Tilma, killing many fishermen »said Babakura Kolo, leader of an anti-jihadist militia in Nigeria. “The plane mistook the fishermen for Boko Haram terrorists who attacked a military base in Chad on Sunday” he continued. The results of this raid, carried out during the night from Sunday to Monday by Boko Haram against a military base in the Lake Chad region, are “about forty dead”according to the Chadian authorities.

A Chadian general staff officer who requested anonymity confirmed to Agence France-Presse the strikes “operated in the islands located on the borders of Nigeria and Niger”. “The Boko Haram often blend in with fishermen and farmers each time they commit their crimes. It is therefore difficult to differentiate between the population and the terrorists” he argued.

“The fighter jet ‘surrounded’ Tilma before starting to drop bombs as people ran in all directions for cover”said Sallau Arzika, a fisherman.

“Tracking” Boko Haram

The counter-offensive launched by the Chadian army against Boko Haram in the Lake Chad region is ” personally “ led by President Mahamat Idriss Déby on the ground, the presidential communication announced on Thursday. “The President of the Republic, supreme leader of the armies, Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, is still camped on the borders of Lake Chad where he personally directs the Haskanite operation”announced the presidency on Facebook, supporting photo of the Head of State in uniform.

President Déby “multiplies meetings, instructs and directs to leave no chance to Boko Haram elements”she says. “The land and air troops mobilized for this operation have entered into action”the presidency indicated during the day.

“Purely military and security”Operation Haskanite launched Monday “does not only aim to secure our peaceful populations (….) It is a question of tracking down, flushing out and annihilating the nuisance capacity of Boko Haram and its associates”Abderahim Bireme Hamid, interim Chadian prime minister, assured Wednesday during a press conference.

Guerrilla zone

Chadian soldiers are frequently targeted by Boko Haram attacks in the Lake Chad region. This vast expanse of water and swamps located between Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad is dotted with islets which shelter the fighters of the jihadist group or its dissident branch, the Islamic State in Africa organization. West.

Difficult to thwart due to the mobility of its armed fighters, the Boko Haram insurgency appeared in 2009 in Nigeria, where it has since left some 40,000 dead and more than two million displaced, before spreading to the countries border crossers.

In March 2020, the group carried out a bloody offensive on another military base in the Lake Chad region, killing around a hundred people, the heaviest losses ever recorded by the Chadian army.

Marshal Idriss Déby, who led Chad for thirty years, was a regular in the field operations command before being killed at the front by rebels in April 2021. His son Mahamat Idriss Déby was then proclaimed by the army transitional president at the head of a junta of fifteen generals, before being elected head of state in May following a contested election.