At least 40 soldiers are killed in an attack on a military base, Chad's president says

Chad’s presidency says unidentified assailants person killed astatine slightest 40 soldiers during an overnight onslaught connected a subject guidelines successful nan country’s west

DAKAR, Senegal -- Unidentified assailants killed astatine slightest 40 soldiers during an overnight onslaught connected a subject guidelines successful nan country’s west, Chad’s presidency said Monday.

President Mahamat Deby Itno visited nan guidelines successful Barkaram, an land successful Chad's Lake region, early greeting and announced nan motorboat of a subject cognition to way nan assailants, according to a connection from nan presidency.

Chad has agelong battled pinch an insurgency successful nan country’s west, adjacent nan separator pinch Nigeria.

It was not instantly known who was down nan latest attack, but erstwhile attacks successful nan region person been blamed by nan authorities connected nan Boko Haram militant group.

In March, an onslaught nan authorities blamed connected Boko Haram killed 7 soldiers, reviving fears of unit successful nan Lake Chad area, aft a play of bid pursuing a successful cognition launched successful 2020 by nan Chadian service to destruct nan extremist group’s bases there. Schools, mosques and churches reopened and humanitarian organizations returned.

Boko Haram, which launched an insurgency much than a decade agone against Western education, seeks to found Islamic rule successful Nigeria’s northeast. The insurgency has dispersed to West African neighbors including Cameroon, Niger and Chad.

Chad, a state of astir 18 cardinal people, has been reeling from governmental turmoil earlier and aft a arguable statesmanlike election that resulted successful Deby Itno’s victory. He had led nan state arsenic interim president during nan play of subject norm that followed nan decease of his begetter successful 2021.