Chad committed to regional anti-militant fight

By;Will Ross

Chad's government says its army will continue to participate in joint military operations against militant jihadist groups across the region, including the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali.

A statement from the foreign ministry came two days after Chad's President, Idriss Deby, seemed to suggest an imminent troop withdrawal when he said Chadian soldiers would no longer be deployed outside the country's borders.

The confirmation that soldiers from Chad will continue to take part in three multinational operations will be welcome news in a region that is in dire trouble.

Chadian soldiers are experienced and are needed to counter the growing threat from Islamist militants.

When President Deby suggested he was bringing all his soldiers home he was speaking after Boko Haram had carried out its deadliest ever attack on the army, killing close to 100 soldiers in a single day.

Chad says in retaliation it killed many more jihadists.

But it is possible the president's threat to withdraw troops was a call for other countries to step up and do more in the fight against the militants.

Chad says it has killed 1,000 jihadists in an operation in the Lake Chad area against the Islamist militant group Boko Haram.

Army spokesman Col Azem Agouna said 52 Chadian soldiers were killed during the six-day battle, known as Bohoma’s Anger.

President Idriss Déby has visited Lake Chad. He said not a single Boko Haram fighter remains on the islands where the jihadists had their hideouts.

He said it was regrettable that Chad had been left on its own to fight on the lake, a vast marshy area where the borders of Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad converge.

The offensive was launched after suspected Islamists last month killed nearly 100 Chadian troops during a seven-hour attack on an island base.

There has been no independent confirmation and Boko Haram has not commented on the claims.