Boko Haram militants on the run following coordinated regional military operations

Militants from the Boko Haram insurgent group have abandoned their hideouts along the Lake Chad basin after sustained aerial bombardments and ground assaults by Chadian, Nigerian and Nigerien forces, according to local witnesses and intelligence sources.

The cross-border offensive, which began last Friday, targeted remote islands in the Lake Chad region—a sprawling wetland straddling Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad. Since 2009, this area has served as a stronghold for both Boko Haram and the Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP).

The military campaign has also resulted in civilian casualties. Dozens of Nigerian fishermen working on islands under Boko Haram control were killed in the strikes. These islands were previously subjected to extortion by the jihadist group, which imposed hefty taxes on local fishermen.

Graphic footage verified by reporters shows severely burned fishermen receiving emergency treatment at a hospital in Bosso, Niger.

Jihadist retreat from key Lake Chad islands

Witness accounts confirm that Boko Haram combatants are fleeing the Shuwa region—an area spanning the borders of Nigeria, Niger and Chad. Suleiman Hassan, a fisherman who recently arrived in Maiduguri—the capital of Borno State in northeast Nigeria—reported seeing jihadists abandoning their bases on several islands, including Dogon Chukwu, Kangarwa, Gashakar, Yawan Mango and Kwatar Mota.

«Under relentless bombardment, Boko Haram fighters escaped with their families in small canoes,» Hassan explained. Meanwhile, Chadian troops engaged in direct combat with militants on Kaukeri Island, the group’s primary stronghold in the lake.

The military strikes follow a series of devastating attacks by Boko Haram against Chadian security forces. Last week, Chad declared three days of national mourning after an ambush killed two high-ranking generals. Just two days prior, another assault on a military outpost along the lake’s shores resulted in at least 24 soldier fatalities.

Multinational coalition intensifies pressure on Boko Haram

Intelligence sources reveal that Nigeria and Niger are actively participating in the operation. «Air strikes are being jointly coordinated by Chad, Nigeria and Niger, with each country deploying two fighter jets,» a Nigerian intelligence officer stated on condition of anonymity.

The offensive has left Boko Haram fighters and their families trapped along the lake’s shores, unwilling to advance into territories controlled by ISWAP—a splinter faction that has been in conflict with Boko Haram since 2016.

The decade-long insurgency has claimed thousands of lives and displaced millions, primarily in northeast Nigeria. Violence has since spread to neighboring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting these nations to reinvigorate the Multinational Joint Task Force—a regional security alliance established in 1994 to combat terrorism.