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Borno Residents Flee Fearing Boko Haram Attack After Chad Army Leaves Nigeria
Hundreds of residents of Gajiganna town in Borno State have fled their home due to the fear that Boko Haram terrorists could lunch attack following the withdrawal of Chadian soldiers from Nigeria.
Chadian Army Spokesperson, Colonel Azem Bermandoa, told AFP on Saturday that Chad has ended a months-long mission fighting Boko Haram in Nigeria and withdrawn its 1,200-strong force across their common border.
He said “It’s our troops who went to aid Nigerian soldiers months ago returning home. They have finished their mission.
“None of our soldiers remains in Nigeria.”
He did not specify if they might be replaced following Friday’s pullout which saw them “return to their sector at Lake Chad.”
However, Chad’s general chief of staff General Tahir Erda Tahiro said that if countries in the region which have contributed to a multinational anti-jihadist force were in agreement, more troops would likely be sent in amid local people’s fears of a security vacuum.
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The Chad troops, brought out in pick-up trucks and tank transporters, crossed the bridge back to their home capital of N’djamena via the Cameroon border town of Kousseri under the curious gaze of locals, an AFP reporter said.
News of the pullout, coupled with a local report of Nigerian troops also leaving the vicinity, sparked concern among local people in the small town of Gajiganna, hundreds of whom promptly fled the area citing their fear of further attacks.
The Chadian soldiers had had a garrison there as well as at nearby Monguno, close to Lake Chad itself.
An anti-jihadist militia source told AFP: “From what the Chadian soldiers told us their withdrawal is as a result of the expiration of their mandate which was for nine months.”
The source added that “as soon as they left most residents of Gajiganna fled to Maiduguri for fear of attacks by the terrorists. They left because Nigerian troops working alongside the Chadians also left the base soon after the Chadians had moved out.”
Source: AFP
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