At least five suspects have been arrested in connection with a pair of
suicide bombings in Chad.
The central African country has banned religious burqas in response.
"Even the burqas for sale in the markets will be withdrawn,"
said Prime Minister Kalzeube Pahimi Deubet, who met religious leaders to
discuss the measures.
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| Scene following first ever suicide bombings in Chad |
Boko Haram took responsibility for the attacks that killed 34 people
and injured more than 100 in simultaneous attacks on a central police station
and police school in the capital N’djamena.
The suicide bombings are the first ever in Chad and appeared to be retaliation
by Boko Haram for Chad's leading role in an offensive against Nigerian based terrorist
group, which is an ISIL affiliate.
Chad is a key Western ally in the fight against armed Islamist groups both in
the Sahara and Lake Chad area.
Oil revenues have helped Chad become a military power and its soldiers were
vital in driving Boko Haram militants out of parts of northern Nigeria this
year.
N’djamena serves as a command centre for a regional anti-Boko Haram taskforce
made up of Nigerian, Chadian, Nigerien, Cameroonian and Beninese, and French
troops fighting militancy in the region.
Neighbouring Niger also confirmed its security forces arrested a dozen
suspected members of a Boko Haram who allegedly killed a civilian and kidnapped
two youths during an attack on a village in the southeastern region of Diffa earlier
this week.