Fourteen people have been killed and 13 others missing after Boko Haram millitants attacked a fishing village in western Chad on Tuesday, government officials said.
According to a report by Voice of America, violence from the Boko Haram insurgency started in Nigeria a decade ago, but has since spread to neighboring countries Chad, Niger and Cameroon.
“There were 14 dead, five wounded and 13 missing in the attack” near the village of Kaiga on the shores of Lake Chad, Imouya Souabebe, the prefect of the region, told AFP on Wednesday.
Kaiga lies in marshland in a remote, sprawling region where the borders of the four countries — Cameroon, Chad, Nigeria and Niger — meet.
The village is about 60 kilometers (35 miles) from the border with northeast Nigeria, the springboard for Boko Haram raids and kidnappings in neighboring countries.
“We know that there are always Boko Haram elements moving around the [border] area, so they are behind this attack,” Souabebe said.
“The attackers first came in a small group and then brought in reinforcements to attack the fishermen.”
The region’s governor, Noki Charfadine, gave a toll of at least nine dead.
He said the attack had taken place in a “red zone, where fishing is forbidden.”
Boko Haram launched its armed insurgency in northeastern Nigeria — a campaign that has killed 35,000 people and caused around two million to flee their homes.
