No fewer than seven Chadian soldiers were killed when their vehicle hit a landmine in a lawless region where jihadist groups, including Nigeria’s Boko Haram and an Islamic State offshoot, are active.
According to President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, several additional soldiers were injured in Monday’s blast in Tchoukou Telia, located in the restive Lake Chad area approximately 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the capital, N’Djamena.
“Their vehicle struck a mine while they were patrolling,” he said. “Seven soldiers were killed, and several others were injured.”.
According to an AFP report on Tuesday, Deby Itno assumed power after his father, Idriss Deby Itno, who ruled Chad with an iron fist for over 30 years, died in 2021 while fighting rebels.
He is a contender in the May 6 presidential election and faces no genuine challenge since authorities prevented ten candidates, including two staunch opponents of the military administration, from running.
The Chadian army often kills or captures jihadists in the Lake Chad region, but it also loses casualties, though this has declined significantly over the last year.
Lake Chad, a huge stretch of water and marshes, lies on the borders of Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, and Chad.
It has been the target of numerous attacks by fighters from both Boko Haram and the Islamic State of West Africa Province.
