Following the loss of 40 soldiers in a recent Boko Haram attack, Chadian President Mahamat Idris Deby has threatened to withdraw Chad’s troops from the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF).
During a week-long visit to troops in the operational theater, President Deby expressed frustration over a lack of coordination among MNJTF forces, which, he argued, enables periodic terrorist strikes. Deby suggested that the ongoing conflict was being prolonged unnecessarily, hinting that Chad may consider disengaging its military forces from the joint campaign.
The MNJTF is a coalition comprising troops from Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, Benin, and Chad, collectively aimed at combating the Boko Haram insurgency and other terrorist threats in the region.
The deadly attack occurred on October 27, when Boko Haram militants launched an assault on the Chadian army, killing 40 soldiers in an overnight raid near the Nigerian border, as confirmed by both government and local sources.
“A garrison housing more than 200 soldiers was targeted by members of Boko Haram late on Sunday,” a local source reported.
A statement from the presidency further detailed that the attack occurred near Ngouboua, in western Chad, “tragically leaving about 40 people dead.”
