Country Report on Terrorism 2023 - Chapter 1 - Chad

Overview:  Chad has experienced persistent terrorist threats in the border areas near population centers surrounding Lake Chad and suffered multiple attacks against military and civilian targets in the Lac and neighboring Hadjer-Lamis regions.  Boko Haram (BH) continued using IEDs in the Lake Chad region, but more often carried out raids with semiautomatic rifles.  BH and ISIS-West Africa (ISIS-WA) maintained minimal presence in Chad, with BH conducting the most activity within Chad.

Security forces and basic government services remained underresourced, which limited the Chadian government’s ability to address all security concerns, but Chadian armed forces led missions within the Sahel to contribute to regional security.

Surrounded by conflict, Chad deployed security forces to contribute to regional stability in the Sahel.  Chad contributed 1,425 soldiers trained by the United States to the most challenging regions of Mali as part of MINUSMA 2,000 soldiers in support of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), and 650 soldiers in northern Chad as part of the G-5 Sahel Joint Force East Zone Headquarters had deployed 1,200 soldiers in the Liptako-Gourma tri-border region joining Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger as part of the G-5 Sahel Joint Force.  Chad also supported the Chad-Sudan Mixed Force by contributing close to 900 soldiers as part of the joint border security effort with Sudan.  MINUSMA’s mandate was terminated in June.

N’Djamena hosted the headquarters of the five-nation (Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria) MNJTF, which was formed to counter the threat posed by ISIS-WA, al-Qa’ida, and Boko Haram in the Lake Chad region.  N’Djamena also hosted France’s largest operational military deployment in the world, formerly known as Task Force Barkhane, which provides French military planners with strategic command position while France reevaluates the array of its forces throughout the Sahel.

2023 Terrorist Incidents:  BH and ISIS-WA continued attacks around the eastern and northern shores of Lake Chad, including attacks carried out by BH in Chadian territory.  Local authorities often conflate BH and ISIS-WA.

• On August 4, in Bol, Lac, Boko Haram intercepted a group of fishers on their way to Lake Chad.  They beheaded four of them and kidnapped four others.
• On August 14, near Bardaï, Tibesti, unknown armed perpetrators ambushed a demining military convoy.  No casualties were reported, but the assailants abducted 12 soldiers.  No group claimed responsibility for this incident.

Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security:  The United States continued support for Chad’s Special Antiterrorism Group Division, which is deployed to fight terrorism in the Lake Chad Basin and across the Sahel, and for other Chadian military organizations involved in counterterrorism.  Illicit trade often has been used to fund terrorist groups operating in the Lake Chad region.  In July the government hosted a high-level forum attended by representatives from Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria, the United States, and Chad itself.  “Understanding methodological approaches to the disengagement of extremist groups in the Lake Chad Basin” was the theme of the discussions.

Securing the country’s borders remained challenging.  Porous borders, particularly across Lake Chad, provide easy passage for terrorists and criminal entities.  Border security remained a shared task of the Gendarmes, Army, Customs, and the National and Nomadic Guard (GNNT), none of which is resourced sufficiently.  The army and GNNT constituted the front line in nearly all major incidents involving BH and ISIS-WA.  At ports of entry, both air and ground, Chad continued to be a partner in the Personal Identification Secure Comparison and Evaluation System (PISCES) program, which builds capacity for partners to screen travelers against known terrorist databases.

Countering the Financing of Terrorism:  Chad is a member of the Task Force on Money Laundering in Central Africa, and its National Agency for Financial Investigation is a member of the Egmont Group.

In April, Chad completed its mutual evaluation, which identified significant weaknesses and gaps in the country’s anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism regime, such as the implementation and enforcement of targeted financial sanctions-related measures.  The report identified Chad’s high terrorist financing risk because of the presence of numerous armed groups operating in and around the country.

Countering Violent Extremism:  The High Council of Islamic Affairs promoted peaceful coexistence and tolerance, and diverse faith groups used the dialogue to mitigate conflict.  The national coordination office for the G-5 Sahel maintained its radicalization to violence prevention unit, which initiates coordination meetings of practitioners of countering violent extremism.

International and Regional Cooperation:  Chad has received security resource support from the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, the People’s Republic of China, Russia, and Türkiye in the past, and continued resources shortfalls are forcing Chad to reassess its need for military capabilities to address encroaching security challenges, including terrorism.  Chad signed a series of agreements – including on security – with Hungary in 2023.  In October, Chad and Cameroon agreed to work together to police their shared border against security threats, including from “extremist” organizations and “armed gangs.”

Chad engaged actively in the following organizations:

• The UN
• MNJTF
• G-5 Sahel
• The Lake Chad Basin Commission