CONTEXT
In the early morning of Friday 13th February, some 30 members of the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram (BH) attacked the village of Ngouboua, a village in the Lake Chad Region that hosts some 8,000 Nigerian refugees. According to the authorities, militants arrived on canoes at approximately 3 am; they shot at the population causing the death of some 10 people including the Chief of Ngouboua Canton, a reliable protector of refugees and partner of UN agencies and NGOs, and his assistant. Militants pillaged the village and burned a number of homes as well as the market place before they were pursued and fled. The local population was awakened by gunshots; some ran to hide into the bush while others fled to Forkolom, located at some 10 km from Ngouboua. This was the second attack by Boko Haram in Chad, following an ambush on the Island of Kantanrom on 31 January which caused the death of 3 individuals.
Since the Boko Haram attack on 3 January on military installations and civilian populations in and around the northeastern Nigerian town of Bagakawa, more than 15,000 Nigerian refugees have sought refuge in Chad, many of them on the small islands scattered of the Lake.
While a number of refugees crossed the Lake and arrived in Chad, others fled to the northern parts of Cameroon. Repeated attacks in northern Cameroon however forced some of hosting Cameroonian population and Nigerian refugees to flee into Chadian territory, most specifically into the Mayo Kebbi East area, at 235 km South of Ndjamena.
Limited security in and around the islands scattered in Lake Chad (including the village of Ngouboua and Tchoukoutalia) and difficult access to these areas prompted the Government of Chad to allocate the site of Dar Es Salam, located some 12 km from Bagasola, for the accommodation of Nigerian refugees.
As of 28 February 2015, Chad is hosting 18,131 Nigerian refugees among whom more than 15,000 arrived in 2015. To date some 3,813 Nigerian refugees are living in Dar Es Salam.
