Chadian soldiers board a Multinational Joint Task Force boat at a military base in Lake Chad Province on May 6, 2026. Chad declared three days of national mourning after a new attack by Boko Haram jihadists on May 6 that killed two generals in the volatile Lake Chad Basin. Chadian soldiers are frequently targeted by Boko Haram in the Lake Chad region, a vast expanse of water and marshland dotted with islands, located between Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger, and Chad. (Photo by Joris Bolomey / AFP)
President of Chad, Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, took to social media to declare the government’s unwavering stance against the escalating threat. “We will intensify our efforts with renewed determination until this menace is completely eradicated,” he stated in a Facebook post on May 5th. His remarks followed an audacious assault by a Boko Haram splinter faction on the military outpost of Barka Tolorom, situated on Chad’s Lake Chad shoreline, resulting in 24 soldier fatalities.
