Chad on Wednesday began a three-day national mourning period following deadly terrorist attacks on soldiers in the Lake Chad region.
Twenty-three soldiers were killed and 26 others injured on Monday after Boko Haram militants attacked the Barka Tolorom island military base.
Late Wednesday, President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno signed a decree announcing the mourning period. The decree ordered flags to fly at half-mast and suspended all festive activities nationwide. It added that only religious music and prayers would be permitted in the media and places of worship during the mourning period.
The declaration came hours after local media reported another Boko Haram attack on Chadian soldiers in the Lake Chad region on Wednesday, although authorities had not officially confirmed casualty figures.
The Lake Chad area, which borders Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon, has for years been plagued by attacks from Boko Haram and its breakaway faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).