Dozens of Nigerian fishermen might have been killed in an airstrike by the Chadian army in opposition to Boko Haram insurgents within the Lake Chad area, an area fishing chief advised the BBC.
Abubakar Gamandi Usman, president of Nigeria’s Lake Chad Basin Fisheries Affiliation, mentioned a number of of his members had been lacking and he estimated greater than 40 lifeless.
No our bodies have but been recovered, however Usman believes some fishermen had been attacked and others drowned whereas making an attempt to flee in overloaded boats.
Chadian and Nigerian authorities haven’t commented, however on Sunday Chad’s president introduced retaliatory “intensive airstrikes” in opposition to Boko Haram strongholds.
The presidential palace mentioned in an announcement on Fb that it had responded to an “unwarranted assault” by Boko Haram. The assaults occurred on Monday and Wednesday final week and focused a Chadian army base close to Lake Chad, reportedly killing at the very least 24 troopers and two generals.
The Lake Chad Basin is an enormous space of ​​waterways and wetlands shared by Nigeria, Chad, Niger, and Cameroon. It has lengthy been a stronghold for Boko Haram and its rival Islamic State West Africa Province (Iswap).
“After Boko Haram attacked the Chadian military, they retreated to their stronghold islands. Fishermen additionally reside on these islands,” Usman advised the BBC.
Panic broke out on Friday as Boko Haram fighters and fishermen tried to flee after Chad’s air drive started circling overhead.
Usman mentioned some areas of Lake Chad are so deep that the seek for the lacking fishermen has been delayed. Usman added that entry to canoes by native communities can also be restricted as many are managed by Boko Haram.
“Boko Haram controls entry to fishing grounds and transports fishermen from fish markets to fishing grounds. Boko Haram collects taxes from these fishermen,” he mentioned.
Lately, the area has seen a rise in assaults on safety forces, kidnappings, and assaults on communities.
Chad’s army operations have beforehand been accused of inflicting civilian deaths, with the air drive mentioned to have killed dozens of Nigerian fishermen in October 2024 in an airstrike concentrating on Boko Haram fighters on Tilma Island in Lake Chad.
Nigeria’s army has additionally been accused of killing civilians throughout operations in opposition to insurgents and jihadists, though authorities typically describe these deaths as unintended collateral injury.
Most lately, the army denied media studies that civilians had been killed in a collection of airstrikes in central Niger state on Sunday.
Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Michael Onoja mentioned the operation was “carried out primarily based on dependable and actionable intelligence.”
