Nigerian fishermen feared dead in Chad military strikes

Dozens of Nigerian fishermen are feared dead after Chadian military airstrikes targeting Boko Haram positions on Lake Chad reportedly hit areas where civilians were fishing, according to local sources who spoke to AFP.

A member of a civilian militia operating around the Lake Chad region said the number of casualties remained unclear because military operations were still ongoing across the sprawling lake system shared by Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger.

But a Lake Chad fishermen’s union official told AFP that at least 40 Nigerian fishermen were missing after Chadian fighter jets bombed two islands in the area.

“Chadian fighter jets bombarded two islands. So far, 40 Nigerian fishermen have been missing and believed to have drowned from the strikes, according to fishermen who escaped,” the official said.

The strikes reportedly began on Friday after recent Boko Haram attacks on Chadian troops in the volatile border region.

According to the militia member, Chadian warplanes targeted islands on the Nigerian side of Lake Chad believed to be under Boko Haram control. He said the attacks caused “huge casualties” among fishermen who operate in the area, many of whom allegedly pay levies to insurgents to gain access to fishing grounds.

The bombardment was said to be concentrated around Shuwa Island, a strategic area near the intersection of Nigeria, Niger and Chad.

Adamu Haladu, a fisherman from Baga in northeastern Nigeria, said many of those feared killed came from communities around the lake.

“Most of those killed in the airstrikes are from the town of Doron Baga on the Nigerian shores of the lake and from Taraba state,” he said.

Haladu added that Boko Haram controls access to some of the remote fishing areas.

“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,” he said. “Boko Haram ferry them on their boats to those islands and bring them back with their catch.”

The Chadian military had not issued an official statement as of Sunday.

The latest strikes come amid escalating violence in the Lake Chad basin. Chad last week declared three days of national mourning after Boko Haram fighters ambushed an army patrol in the lake’s island region, killing two generals. Days earlier, at least 24 Chadian soldiers were killed in another attack on a military base near the lake.

The incident also revives concerns over civilian casualties linked to counterinsurgency operations in the region. In October 2024, Chadian forces were accused of killing dozens of Nigerian fishermen during airstrikes on Tilma Island following a deadly Boko Haram assault that left 40 Chadian soldiers dead. Witnesses said civilians were hit in that operation, although Chad’s military denied targeting non-combatants.

Lake Chad remains a major operational base for both Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), with the porous waterways and marshlands providing cover for insurgent activity.

Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger revived a regional multinational military force in 2015 to combat jihadist groups operating around the lake. However, Niger withdrew from the force last year amid deteriorating relations between the military government in Niamey and neighbouring states.

Story adapted from reporting by AFP.