TheCable

Four civilians and a soldier have been killed by Boko Haram insurgents who launched their first ever attack on Chadian soil in Ngouboua, a village on the shores of Lake Chad.

AFP quoted a security source as saying the militants also set ablaze most parts of the village, before they were repelled by Chadian forces.

The source said military aircraft were deployed against the militants and their vessels were destroyed.

The attackers reportedly crossed the lake in large canoes from Baga, Borno state in Nigeria, to Ngouboua.

Azem Bermandoa Agouna,Chadian military spokesman, confirmed the attack, saying that the country’s security forces chased them back to Nigeria.

“They started firing on everything that moved. The military retaliated,” he said on national radio.

About 7,000 Nigerian refugees are currently seeking refuge in Ngouboua.

This is the first time that the sect would strike within the territory of Chad.

Boko Haram has carried out several cross-border attacks on neighbours of Nigeria who have recently launched a regional operation to combat the group.