Chadian soldiers sit on a pickup truck as they leave Bangui on April 4, 2014, escorted by African-led International Support Mission to the Central African Republic (MISCA) forces (not pictured). The UN accused Chadian soldiers on April 4 of carrying out an unprovoked attack when they opened fire in a crowded market in the Central African Republic's capital Bangui, killing at least 30 people. The damning findings came a day after Chad -- under fire over the Saturday attack, which also left 300 people wounded -- angrily announced it was withdrawing from the African peacekeeping force struggling to restore security in the strife-torn state. AFP PHOTO / MIGUEL MEDINA
Boko Haram fighters killed six Chadian soldiers in the Lake Chad region, where deadly jihadist attacks against civilians and security forces are on the rise, the army said Tuesday.
Security experts say Boko Haram, which originated in Nigeria in 2009, has established bases on islets dotting Lake Chad, a vast swampy expanse in the border region straddled by Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon.
The soldiers were killed while patrolling a group of islets on the Chad-Nigeria border, army spokesman General Azem Bermendoa Agouna told AFP.
Twelve other soldiers were wounded and the military killed around 10 “terrorists”, he said.
The Chadian army launched an offensive against Boko Haram in April after some 100 soldiers died in an attack by the group on one of its bases.
President Idriss Deby then claimed to have pushed the jihadists out.
But attacks have continued despite the military operation.
Fighters from a dissident branch, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) group, are also extending their grip and influence around Lake Chad.
At least 36,000 people have been killed and around three million displaced in the decade-long Islamist conflict which spread from northeast Nigeria to Chad, Niger and Cameroon.
Those countries have formed a regional military coalition to fight the jihadists. (Text, excluding headline, courtesy AFP)
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