Army spokesman Colonel Azem Bermendoa Agouna told the AFP news agency that 52 troops died during the operation, which was launched on the 31st of March.

According to Al Jazeera, Agouna said the operation, which was launched after nearly 100 soldiers were killed in a Boko Haram attack last month, ended on Wednesday after the armed fighters were forced out of the country.

Lake Chad is a swampy natural water deposit where the border of Chad, Niger, Nigeria and Cameroon meet.

Religious minorities are also exposed to danger in this region. Christians predominantly live in other parts of the country, however there are significant minority groups in northeastern Nigeria.

The four countries bordering the area agreed in 2015 to set up the Multinational Joint Task Force, including Benin.

However, sharing the burden among the troops did not turn out well, as President Idriss Deby said last weekend, “Chad is alone in shouldering all the burden of the war against Boko Haram”. 

As International Christian Concern noted, due to the multiple recent attacks that Chad has suffered, and this operation which they were forced to conduct mostly alone, they have decided not to become involved in international operations, but only to protect their own borders. 

Boko Haram poses regional threat to Central Africa and religious minorities

Photo: Idriss Fall/VOA (public domain)