58 Boko Haram members to appear in court Thursday

Fifty-eight suspected Islamists, who were rounded up in a Chadian operation against Boko Haram, will be heard by a criminal court from Thursday, Justice Minister Djimet Arabi told AFP.

President Idriss Deby Itno asserted that Boko Haram militants were chased out of the country in the operation carried out between March 31 and April 8.

A Chadian army spokesman said at least 52 soldiers and 1,000 jihadists were killed during the operation, which was launched after a massive attack on an army base near Lake Chad that claimed the lives of around 100 soldiers.

Idriss warned his allies in the region that Chad’s army would no longer take part in operations outside the country.

The force, considered one of the best in the region, has fought Boko Haram in the Lake Chad region as part of the Joint Multinational Force with Nigeria, Cameroon and Niger.