At least 40 Chadian soldiers were killed in a militant attack on their base near Lake Chad. President Mahamat Déby has ordered a counter-attack, while local sources suspect Boko Haram's involvement.

At least 40 Chadian soldiers lost their lives following an attack on their base on Sunday evening, according to the presidency. President Mahamat Déby has issued orders for a counter-operation to pursue those responsible, as stated in a release from his office.

The assault reportedly took place on an island known as Barkaram, located in a vast, marshy region that was once covered by the waters of Lake Chad, which has significantly shrunk in recent decades.

While the presidential statement does not name suspects in Sunday’s attack, the region is near the borders of Nigeria and Niger, areas where Islamist militants are known to operate.

Sunday’s assault is among the worst that Chadian soldiers have suffered since 2020, when approximately 100 soldiers were killed in a raid. That incident led then-President Idriss Déby to initiate a campaign against Islamist militants.

Local residents told AFP that they suspect fighters from Boko Haram, an Islamist militant group based across the border in Nigeria, were responsible for this recent attack. They reported that at least 200 soldiers were stationed at the base at the time.

This event is a major setback for President Déby, an elite soldier himself and the son of the former president, who was killed in combat with rebels near the Libyan border three years ago.

The Chadian presidency, in its public statements, has portrayed Déby as a hands-on leader with military acumen. He reportedly visited the site of the attack early Monday, where he assessed the situation, paid tribute to the fallen soldiers, offered compassion to the wounded, and boosted the morale of his troops.

The Lake Chad basin, bordered by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria, is a region where a Multinational Joint Task Force operates, aiming to combat the armed groups active there.

However, Islamist militants “often regroup when troops withdraw,” according to the International Crisis Group, which has called for better funding and strategic planning.

In recent years, the region has seen several coups in countries like Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso, with each country's military citing the failure to address the Islamist militant threat as a reason for toppling civilian governments.

Analyst Paul Melly notes that amid these regional crises, Chad has emerged as a stable partner for Western countries. However, it is now also strengthening ties with Russia, a move that has raised tensions with France and the United States.

Chad has additionally become a significant conduit for arms into Sudan and is currently hosting a large number of refugees from Sudan’s civil conflict in camps near its eastern border.