Chad’s army chief, General Tahir Erda, was on Thursday dismissed by President Idriss Déby in the aftermath of a second attack on lakeside settlements by insurgents of the Nigerian Islamist sect Boko Haram.
By Adam Hassane Deyé
The attack which took place on Wednesday night, led to the killing of four people, including three Chadian soldiers and a civilian.
It followed Monday’s attack, in which six soldiers were killed in an ambush.
A week earlier, an explosion, blamed on Boko Haram, killed nine people, all of them civilians.
Although the reasons for the dismissal of army chief Tahir Erda are not known, it comes at a time of growing insecurity in the islands of Lake Chad with the presence of Boko Haram insurgents.
He is replaced by another general, Abakar Abdelkérim who held several senior positions in the Chadian National Army, including at the General Staff and the General Directorate of the Gendarmerie.
Tahir Erda, former Director General of the National Police, spent less than a year as head of the Armed Forces after his appointment on March 22, 2019.
AHD/te/lb/as/APA