Terrorist Attack on a Chad Military Base Kills 40 Soldiers

Incident Details

In the early hours of 27 October, an unknown group of attackers killed at least 40 soldiers at a military base on the island of Barkaram in the Lake Chad region. No group has claimed responsibility at this stage.

Fig1. Location of Incident (Barkaram, Chad)

Comment. This attack is the most recent incident in the Chadian military’s ongoing fight against Islamic insurgents and is the largest loss of Army personnel since 2020 when around 100 soldiers were killed by suspected ‘Boko Haram’ militants. Since the regional conflict began, the UN estimates that more than 220,000 people have been displaced from their homes amid violence and insecurity within the Lake Chad province; overall 3.2 million people have been displaced across the troubled region.

Assessment. Chad’s current security landscape is marked by significant challenges stemming from internal political instability, refugee pressures from Sudan and a rise in radical Islamic terrorism. This latest incident is most likely linked to militants from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) who emerged as the predominant terrorist group after Boko Haram’s leader Abubakar Shekau was eliminated in 2021. ISWAP is operating within the Lake Chad from their stronghold across the porous border area between Nigeria, Niger, and Chad. Despite backing from France and the US, Chad’s military suffers from low morale, lacks adequate training and equipment and is unlikely to have the capability to reduce the current level of insurgent activity without stronger cooperation with its neighbours. A Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), comprising soldiers from Benin, Chad, Cameroon, Niger, and Nigeria was formed in 2014 to eliminate BH/ISWAP, however, its effectiveness is questionable due to national agendas, capability and cooperation being more deconfliction rather than coordination. It is likely that without assistance from its neighbours, Chad will remain the weakest link and isolated military posts will continue to be overrun.