Chad declares three days of national mourning after Boko Haram ambush kills two generals
Following the deaths of two senior officers in a Wednesday ambush, the state marks the period from midnight on May 6 to midnight on May 9 to recognise the sacrifices made by security forces defending the volatile region.
The Chadian government has announced a three-day period of national mourning to honour the two generals killed in a Boko Haram ambush within the Lake Chad Basin. The official declaration, issued on Wednesday, covers the timeframe from midnight on May 6 until midnight on May 9, specifically commemorating the martyrs who fell during terrorist attacks that occurred on May 4 and May 6.
This state of mourning follows a separate assault two days prior on the Barka Tolorom military base, an incident that claimed the lives of at least 24 soldiers. While the army reported that a significant number of attackers were neutralised during the base attack, the subsequent ambush on May 6 resulted in the confirmed death of two high-ranking generals, prompting the current period of official remembrance.
The violence has unfolded in the Lake Chad Basin, a vast and remote landscape of water and marshland shared between Chad, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Niger. This region has recently witnessed a marked surge in activity by Boko Haram's JAS faction, which has targeted security forces and carried out kidnappings. The terrain, characterised by remote islands and difficult marshland, also continues to serve as a haven for ISWAP, the hardline splinter faction of the ISIL affiliate in West Africa Province.
President Mahamat Deby has responded to the escalating violence by launching a counteroffensive designed to destroy the insurgents' capacity to cause harm. Although military operations concluded in February 2025 with claims that Boko Haram had lost its sanctuary on Chadian territory, attacks on security forces have persisted. The government now frames the recent killings as a direct challenge to this ongoing security strategy.
The frequency of such incidents highlights the enduring instability in the landlocked Central African nation. Recent history includes a similar attack in October 2024 on a military base in the basin, which resulted in the deaths of approximately 40 Chadian soldiers. These events occur against a backdrop of years of political and social turbulence, including rebellions, armed group activity, and coups, which have contributed to Chad's status as one of the poorest nations in Africa.
