Chad has witnessed a decline in insurgent attacks in the last one year. / Photo: AP

Seven Chadian soldiers were killed when their vehicle hit a landmine in a lawless region where insurgent groups including Nigeria's Boko Haram are active.

President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno said several other soldiers were injured in Monday's blast in Tchoukou Telia in the restive Lake Chad region, about 200 kilometres (125 miles) from the capital N'Djamena.

"Their vehicle struck a mine while they were patrolling," he said. "Seven soldiers were killed and several others injured."

Deby Itno took power after his father Idriss Deby Itno, who ruled Chad for more than 30 years, died in 2021 while fighting rebels.

Site of frequent attacks

He is a candidate in a May 6 presidential election and faces no real challenge as authorities this weekend barred ten candidates, including two fierce opponents of the military regime, from standing.

The Chadian army regularly kills or captures insurgents in the Lake Chad region but also suffers losses though this has considerably decreased over the past year.

Lake Chad, a vast expanse of water and marshland, straddles the borders of Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad.

It has been the site of frequent attacks from Boko Haram insurgents.

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AFP