Boko Haram jihadists in full retreat following coordinated regional assault

Militants belonging to the Boko Haram terrorist network have fled their strongholds on Lake Chad after sustained aerial bombardments and ground operations spearheaded by Chadian forces with support from Nigeria and Niger, according to eyewitness accounts and a senior Nigerian intelligence source.

The offensive, which began on Friday, targeted remote islands scattered across the vast, marshy lake region shared by Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad. This area has been a jihadist stronghold since 2009, hosting both Boko Haram and the Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP).

The bombing raids inadvertently struck several Nigerian fishermen operating in zones under Boko Haram control, where the group enforces an extortion tax. Videos obtained by local reporters show burn victims receiving treatment at a hospital in Bosso, Niger.

Local fishermen describe chaotic evacuation

Suleiman Hassan, a fisherman who arrived in Maiduguri on Monday after fleeing the embattled Shuwa border zone, shared harrowing details with reporters. “Boko Haram fighters are abandoning their island camps between Nigeria, Niger and Chad,” he recounted. “Under relentless bombing, they’re escaping in small canoes, taking their families with them.”

Among the islands reportedly abandoned are Dogon Chukwu, Kangarwa, Gashakar, Yawan Mango and Kwatar Mota. Chadian troops clashed directly with jihadists on Kaukeri Island, long considered Boko Haram’s primary bastion on the lake.

Military losses spark decisive counterattack

The joint operation follows a spate of deadly ambushes targeting Chadian forces. Just last week, the country declared three days of national mourning after an attack killed two high-ranking generals. Two days prior, another strike on a military outpost along the lake’s shores left at least 24 soldiers dead.

According to a Nigerian intelligence officer who requested anonymity, Nigeria and Niger are actively participating in the campaign. “Air strikes are being coordinated by all three nations,” the source confirmed. “Each country has deployed two fighter jets to the operation.”

The aerial campaign has cornered surviving militants and their families along the lake’s edges, trapping them between advancing government forces and ISWAP-controlled territory. The two factions have been locked in a bitter rivalry since their 2016 split.

A decade of devastation

The jihadist insurgency has left thousands dead and displaced millions, primarily in Nigeria’s northeast. Violence has since spilled into neighboring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting the reactivation of the Multinational Joint Task Force—a coalition originally formed in 1994 to combat transnational threats.