Local sources report that the Chadian military has been accused of killing scores of Nigerian fishermen during an airstrike on Tilma Island, located in the Kukawa district of Nigeria's Lake Chad region. This tragic incident occurred on Wednesday, just days after a Boko Haram attack on a Chadian military base resulted in approximately 40 casualties.
Eyewitness accounts and reports from anti-jihadist militia groups indicate that the airstrike targeted fishermen who were engaged in their daily activities, mistakenly identifying them as Boko Haram militants. Babakura Kolo, a leader of one militia group collaborating with Nigerian forces, stated, "The jet mistook the fishermen for Boko Haram terrorists who attacked a military base inside Chad on Sunday.”
Survivors described a chaotic scene as the Chadian fighter jet circled Tilma before dropping bombs. Fisherman Sallau Arzika recounted the panic: "The fighter jet encircled Tilma before beginning to drop bombs while people ran in all directions for cover.”
The Chadian military confirmed conducting airstrikes in border areas but emphasized the difficulty of distinguishing between civilians and militants due to Boko Haram's tactics of blending in with local populations. A senior officer noted, "Boko Haram operatives frequently merge with fishermen and farmers when perpetrating their offenses.”
In response to the recent surge in violence attributed to Boko Haram, which has plagued the region since 2009 and claimed tens of thousands of lives, Chad's President Mahamat Idriss Deby has initiated "Operation Haskanite" aimed at dismantling militant operations in the Lake Chad area. The government is also calling for increased international support to combat these persistent security challenges.