The Chadian army has launched a “major operation” to flush out Boko
Haram jihadists from islands in Lake Chad, sparking violent clashes on
Monday between soldiers and the Islamic State-affiliated group. Nigerian
President Muhammadu Buhari will, meanwhile, travel to neighbouring
Cameroon on Wednesday for talks on combating the regional threat posed
by the extremist group, whose six-year insurgency has claimed 13,000
lives and caused about 1.5 million people to flee their homes.
On
Monday, “violent clashes” raged near Baga Sola, one of the main towns
in the shallow, marshy waters of Lake Chad, a Chadian security source
told AFP. He added that Chadian forces had earlier “intercepted fleeing
Boko Haram elements” around 20 kilometres (12 miles) to the southeast.
The
four countries bordering the lake — Chad, Cameroon,Nigeria and Niger —
set up a military coalition against Boko Haram early this year
headquartered in the Chadian capital N’Djamena. Chadian forces have
“around 1,000 men positioned to occupy all the islands and neutralise
Boko Haram”, the security official said.
The jihadists, now
affiliated with the Islamic State group, have been using the islands as a
rear base after being routed from their traditional strongholds in
Nigeria by the four-country offensive. The network of hundreds of islets
separated by channels hidden by tall grass provides cover for the
militants to steal livestock and crops from local inhabitants.
According
to the security official, the Lake Chad clashes erupted Saturday on
Midi Koutou island, leaving six Boko Haram fighters dead and 15 wounded.
A Chadian soldier was also said to have been killed. The source said
Boko Haram “kidnapped many women and children” as they fled Saturday’s
fighting.
Evacuating residents
A source close to local
authorities said that, following a request from the central Chadian
government about two weeks ago, an operation was launched “to evacuate
the islands” on the Chadian side of the lake and that about 90 percent
of residents had been moved to the mainland since. “The army forcibly
entered almost all the (Chadian) islands,” the source said, adding the
militants were dispersed across “mainly little islets and villages”.
Buhari,
meanwhile, will travel to Cameroon on Wednesday for talks with his
counterpart Paul Biya on the Boko Haram insurgency, Nigerian
presidential spokesman Femi Adesina said. A new wave of violence has
claimed 800 lives since the Nigerian president came to power in May
vowing to crush the insurgency.
Recent days have seen a spate of
Boko Haram raids and suicide bombings in the region, with seven people
killed in Cameroon at the weekend, three of whom were beheaded. Boko
Haram earlier this month claimed responsibility for twin suicide
bombings in N’Djamena that left 38 people dead, the SITE Intelligence
Group reported.
Three days later, at least 15 people were killed
in a suicide bomb attack at a crowded market in the Chadian capital. The
European Union on Monday expressed solidarity with the anti-Boko Haram
campaign. “Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria are sparing no effort in
fighting terrorism in the region… The European Union supports the
efforts for comprehensive bilateral and regional cooperation to tackle
these challenges,” it said in a statement.
Tuesday, 28 July 2015
8 People Dead: Boko Haram On The Run, Chadian Forces In Pursuit
Categories: news
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