Ten Chadian soldiers were killed Thursday during the attack on a Boko Haram base by the Chadian army in the Lake Chad area, the secretary general of this province told AFP on Saturday.
Read also: Boko Haram multiplies attacks around Lake Chad
During the operation, "
the elements of the Chadian army fell into an ambush which caused the death of ten soldiers and left seven wounded
", declared this official, Sadick Khatir, confirming information given by a military source. anonymous.
Contacted by AFP, the army spokesman, Colonel Azem Mbermandoa, did not confirm the assessment mentioned by the other two sources, but added that the Chadian army had "
destroyed a Boko Haram base , recovered weapons and ammunition
”.
The jihadist group Boko Haram, born in Nigeria in 2009, has established bases on some of the multiple islets dotting Lake Chad, a vast swampy expanse on the border between Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon.
The Chadian army launched an offensive against Boko Haram in April after the death of a hundred Chadian soldiers in an attack by the jihadist group on one of its bases.
Read also: Chad: 92 soldiers killed by Boko Haram in Lac province
In Lake Province, more than 360,000 people have fled their homes to avoid attacks and due to flooding, according to the International Organization for Migration.
President Idriss Déby admitted in early August that "
Boko Haram would still do a lot of damage
" in Chad.