N’DJAMENA: Chad’s military inflicted “many dead and wounded” in air strikes against Boko Haram jihadists, President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno said on Thursday.
“We carried out several air strikes on enemy positions that resulted in many dead and wounded,” Deby told reporters in the Lake Chad region, without giving specific numbers.
Deby, who gave an interview in full military fatigues, said he had “personally” launched the counter-attack against Boko Haram, which targeted the Chadian army in an attack last month in the western region, close to the border with Nigeria.
The Chad government had vowed to “obliterate” Boko Haram when launching its operation in late October after the jihadists killed around 40 people and wounded dozens more in a raid on a military garrison.
The operation “aims not only to secure our peaceful population” but also to “hunt down, root out and obliterate the capability of Boko Haram and its affiliates to cause harm,” interim Prime Minister Abderahim Bireme Hamid told reporters last week.
In a vast expanse of water and swamps, the Lake Chad region’s countless islets serve as hideouts for jihadist groups, such as Boko Haram and its offshoot Islamic State in West Africa (ISWAP), who carry out regular attacks on the country’s army and civilians.
Chad and its neighbors Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon set up a multinational force of some 8,500 soldiers in the area in 2015 to tackle the jihadists.
Boko Haram launched an insurgency in Nigeria in 2009, leaving more than 40,000 people dead, and the organization has since spread to neighboring countries.
In March 2020, the Chadian army suffered its biggest ever one-day losses in the region, when around 100 troops died in a raid on the lake’s Bohoma peninsula.
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Chad army inflicts ‘many dead’ on Boko Haram extremists
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Chad army inflicts ‘many dead’ on Boko Haram extremists
Paraguay lawmakers approve defense agreement allowing an increased US military presence
ASUNCIÓN: Paraguay’s Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday approved a defense agreement allowing the temporary presence of US military and civilian personnel inside its borders, widely seen as a victory for the Trump administration, which has sought to strengthen its presence in Latin America.
The Status of Forces Agreement, or SOFA, was approved by a large majority of lawmakers and now awaits the signature of President Santiago Peña to take effect. Peña, one of Trump’s closest allies in the region, is expected to sign the deal in the coming days.
The agreement passed with 53 votes in favor and eight against, and four abstentions out of a total 80 lawmakers. Fifteen were not present for the vote.
Signed by both countries in Washington in December, the agreement establishes a legal framework for the presence of US security forces in Paraguay for training, joint exercises, and humanitarian assistance. It also authorizes the United States to have criminal jurisdiction over its personnel while in the country.
The treaty, praised as “historic” by both the US State Department and Paraguayan Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano, was approved by the Paraguayan Senate last week, where debate was more polarized due to concerns over potential violations of sovereignty.
Some legislators argued against the agreement, citing a controversial provision to grant foreign troops immunity from prosecution, equivalent to that handed to diplomatic personnel.
“We believe in international cooperation, but we also believe in strong states, respected institutions and real democratic sovereignty,” said independent congressman Raúl Benítez.
Despite criticisms, Paraguay’s foreign minister backed the agreement, arguing in December that its main purpose is to strengthen cooperation between the United States and Paraguay in fighting transnational organized crime and “terrorism.” He also clarified that “there is no possibility of the installation of US military bases” in Paraguay.
Washington has also praised SOFA, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling it a “historic agreement” that would help facilitate bilateral and multinational training, humanitarian assistance, disaster response, and other shared security interests.
The approval of SOFA comes as Washington seeks to expand its influence in Latin America under the Trump administration’s national security strategy and as a sector of civil society in Paraguay continues to raise its voice against it.
“The security of a country is not built by importing troops or shielding foreign agents with diplomatic immunities,” said Peace and Justice Service, a civil organization which has a presence across Latin America, in a statement released days before the final vote. The treaty, it added, “does not represent progress in security, but rather the formalization of a geopolitics of impunity that undermines the pillars of our national dignity.”
The Status of Forces Agreement, or SOFA, was approved by a large majority of lawmakers and now awaits the signature of President Santiago Peña to take effect. Peña, one of Trump’s closest allies in the region, is expected to sign the deal in the coming days.
The agreement passed with 53 votes in favor and eight against, and four abstentions out of a total 80 lawmakers. Fifteen were not present for the vote.
Signed by both countries in Washington in December, the agreement establishes a legal framework for the presence of US security forces in Paraguay for training, joint exercises, and humanitarian assistance. It also authorizes the United States to have criminal jurisdiction over its personnel while in the country.
The treaty, praised as “historic” by both the US State Department and Paraguayan Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano, was approved by the Paraguayan Senate last week, where debate was more polarized due to concerns over potential violations of sovereignty.
Some legislators argued against the agreement, citing a controversial provision to grant foreign troops immunity from prosecution, equivalent to that handed to diplomatic personnel.
“We believe in international cooperation, but we also believe in strong states, respected institutions and real democratic sovereignty,” said independent congressman Raúl Benítez.
Despite criticisms, Paraguay’s foreign minister backed the agreement, arguing in December that its main purpose is to strengthen cooperation between the United States and Paraguay in fighting transnational organized crime and “terrorism.” He also clarified that “there is no possibility of the installation of US military bases” in Paraguay.
Washington has also praised SOFA, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling it a “historic agreement” that would help facilitate bilateral and multinational training, humanitarian assistance, disaster response, and other shared security interests.
The approval of SOFA comes as Washington seeks to expand its influence in Latin America under the Trump administration’s national security strategy and as a sector of civil society in Paraguay continues to raise its voice against it.
“The security of a country is not built by importing troops or shielding foreign agents with diplomatic immunities,” said Peace and Justice Service, a civil organization which has a presence across Latin America, in a statement released days before the final vote. The treaty, it added, “does not represent progress in security, but rather the formalization of a geopolitics of impunity that undermines the pillars of our national dignity.”
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