Gen. Banyaman Cossingar, Chad gendarmerie director general, confirmed the attack, saying Nigeria’s Boko Haram group is suspected. A top police official blamed the attack on Nigerian extremist group Boko Haram. Chad’s government in November imposed a state of emergency in the area.
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The suicide bombings took place on Saturday in a busy public market located on the island of Koulfoua.
The Jihadists, believed to be hiding out in Nigeria’s Sambisa forest and the lake’s many islands, are held responsible for 17,000 deaths and for making 2.5 million people homeless in their six-year campaign of violence.
“Evacuations will have to be done by the army with the assistance of non-governmental organizations and the United Nations to local healthcare centers like Bol”, said Florent Mehaule, head of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Chad.
A police boat sails on Lake Chad which borders Chad, Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon.
In recent months, Boko Haram Islamists have stepped up attacks and suicide bombings on Chadian villages in the lake that lie close to the frontier with Nigeria. Cameroon said it conducted a major operation along its long western border with Nigeria, killing 100 militants and freeing 900 people.
The statement also listed the names of 12 alleged Boko Haram members, including a Niger national, who had been arrested in Abuja and the neighboring towns between October 29 and December 1.
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The U.S. Embassy in Nigeria has issued as warning with regard to information about possible terror attacks by Boko Haram on hotels popular with Americans in the country.
