Dozens of Nigerian fishermen are feared dead after a Chadian army attack against jihadists on Lake Chad, a civilian militia member and a union official told AFP on Sunday.
The news agency quoted a civilian militia member and a Lake Chad fishermen’s union leader as saying Chadian fighter jets targeted two islands believed to be controlled by Boko Haram group.
Following the attack, at least 40 Nigerian fisherman went missing and were believed to have drowned.
The actual number of deaths is unknown because military operations across the wide canals and marshes shared by Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger, and Chad were still underway at the time of reporting.
A militia member claimed the Chadian military had been attacking islands on the Nigerian side of the lake since Friday, following previous attacks on Chadian forces.
The source stated that there were “huge casualties” among fishermen operating in the area, many of whom purportedly pay taxes to Boko Haram in order to gain access to fishing zones.
“The bombing was concentrated on the jihadist stronghold of Shuwa island, where Nigeria, Niger and Chad meet on the lake,” the report reads.
“Many people were killed,” a fisherman from Baga in north-eastern Nigeria, was quoted as saying.
According to AFP, the majority of people killed in the strikes were believed to be from Doron Baga, a fishing village on the Nigerian shore of Lake Chad, and Taraba state.
“It is not a secret that Nigerian fishermen pay tax to Boko Haram to have access to the remote island with a huge fish reservoir,” one source said.
“Boko Haram ferry them on their boats to those islands and bring them back with their catch.”
As of the time of publication, the Chadian military had yet to publish an official statement regarding the incident.
The development comes just days after Boko Haram carried out two separate attacks on Chadian military bases near Lake Chad, killing at least 24 troops and two senior generals.
In October 2024, Chad’s military was again accused of murdering hundreds of Nigerian fisherman during air strikes targeting Boko Haram.
