Chad declares national mourning after deadly Boko Haram ambush

Chad has declared three days of national mourning after a Boko Haram ambush in the volatile Lake Chad Basin on Wednesday left two generals dead.

It follows an assault by the Nigeria-based group two days earlier on the Barka Tolorom military base near Lake Chad, which saw at least 24 soldiers dead, with the army saying a “significant number” of attackers were killed.

“From Wednesday, May 6 at midnight to Saturday, May 9 at midnight … in memory of the martyrs who fell on the field of honour during the attacks by terrorist groups that occurred on May 4 and 6”, the government said in a statement.

The Lake Chad region, a vast expanse of water and marshland dotted with remote islands, shared between Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad, has witnessed a surge in activity in recent months by Boko Haram’s JAS faction, including kidnappings and assaults on security forces.

Lake Chad’s islands and marshes also provide a haven for Boko Haram’s rival hardline splinter faction, the ISIL affiliate in West Africa Province (ISWAP).

In October 2024, an attack on a military base in the Lake Chad Basin by Boko Haram left about 40 Chadian soldiers dead.

Chad President Mahamat Deby responded to the killings by launching a counteroffensive aimed at “destroying Boko Haram’s capacity to cause harm”.

When the operation ended in February 2025, the army claimed Boko Haram had “no more sanctuary on Chadian territory” but the attacks on security forces continued.

The landlocked Central African country has faced years of instability marked by rebellions, armed groups and coups, with prolonged economic activity making Chad among the poorest nations in Africa.