Categories: News

Boko Haram Attacks Chad for 1st Time: Killing Civilians, Torching Key Village

 

 


After focusing their efforts for the first time on Niger in the last week, Islamic militant group Boko Haram (pictured) attacked Chad for the very first time  overnight Thursday, according to the BBC.

RELATED: After Repeated Boko Haram Attacks Nigeriens Flee, State of Emergency Declared 

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About 30 militants are said to have crossed Lake Chad to the village of Ngouboua in three motorboats. Once on land, the terrorists reportedly burned down two-thirds of the village and killed 10 civilians, before the Chadian military were able to stop their offensive.

One witness reportedly told Reuters, “They came on board three canoes and succeeded in killing about 10 people before being pushed back by the army.”

While Boko Haram reportedly sustained two deaths, five more were injured, according to Colonel Azem Bermandoua Agouna.

Col. Agouna also said the area’s chief was killed by a stray bullet.

Nigerian refugees wait to be registered by UNHCR in Ngouboua, western Chad.

Ngouboua has become a safe haven for Nigerian refugees as well as Chadian returnees. Last October, about 1,000 people fled the city of Kolikolia in Borno state to the village. Then in January, with the alleged massacre of civilians in Baga, another 7,000 Nigerians relocated there, according to UN Refugee Agency UNHCR.

Chad has proven to be a primary weapon in the fight against Boko Haram.

In addition to waging successful airstrikes against the sect in Nigeria and Niger, they have also recovered towns previously occupied by Boko Haram, such as Malumfatori and Gamboru, and fortified the Cameroonian army.

That is why it comes as no surprise that Chad’s military is regarded as the “most effective” in the region.

Still, Boko Haram continues to be a nefarious force as it wages war on four countries (Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger, and now Chad) all at the same time.

It remains to be seen whether the nearly 9,000-man regional force, organized by the African Union, will be sufficient to eventually shutting them down.

RELATED: Boko Haram Focus Wrath Outside of Nigeria: Bus Hijacked in Cameroon, Car Bomb Detonated in Niger

 

 

 

 

Abena Agyeman-Fisher

Abena Agyeman-Fisher is the Editor-in-Chief of Face2Face Africa. Most recently, she worked for Interactive One as the Senior Editor of NewsOne, she worked for AOL as the News Programming Manager of Black Voices, which later became HuffPo Black Voices, and for the New York Times Company as an Associate Health Editor. Abena, a Spelman College graduate, has been published in Al Jazeera, the Daily Beast, New Jersey’s The Star-Ledger, the Grio, BlackVoices, West Orange Patch, About.com, the Source, Vibe, Vibe Vixen, Jane, and Upscale Magazines. She has interviewed top celebrities, icons, and politicians, such as First Lady Michelle Obama, Senior Advisor to the President Valerie Jarrett, Civil Rights activist and diplomat Andrew Young, comedian Bill Cosby, Grammy Award-winning singer Jill Scott, actress and singer Queen Latifah, Olympic Gold winner Cullen Jones, international supermodel Alek Wek, and five-division world champion boxer Floyd Mayweather. Most recently, she served as the First Lady’s press reporter during President Barack Obama’s U.S.-Africa Summit, Young African Leaders Institute event, and the 2013 presidential trip to Senegal, Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Tanzania. Abena is also a 2015 International Women's Media Foundation Africa Great Lakes Fellow, where she reported on women candidates and Chinese sweatshops in Tanzania for CNN and Refinery29.

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  • Prayers for these refugees and for all the people who are being killed and persecuted. May God protect them and pour out blessing on them.

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