Chad's national assembly has extended a state of
emergency in the western Lake Chad region by four months.
The extension announced on Wednesday comes after a
double attack by Boko Haram militants that killed no fewer than 12 people.
"The state of emergency is prolonged by 147
unanimous votes by the parliament for four months. That is to say it will end
on March 22," a ruling party deputy told Reuters news agency.
The initial emergency was authorized on Nov. 9 and
was set to last 12 days.
The government wanted a six-month extension but
deputies opposed it, Reuters quoted another deputy as saying.
The so-called Boko Haram terror group has stepped
up attacks in remote border areas around Lake Chad since it was forced to cede
territory earlier this year.
Oil-producing Chad is a key ally in the fight
against the Islamist threat across West Africa, playing a central role in
offensives on al Qaeda-linked groups in Mali and Boko Haram militants in neighbouring
Nigeria.
There
has not been a state of emergency in Chad, one of Africa's military
heavyweights, since a series of rebellions in the 2000s springing from its
volatile east. Neighbouring Niger also has a state of emergency in its border
region of Diffa.