MAF flies UN to hostile Lake Chad to support terrorised communities

17th June 2026

MAF’s plane reaches Bol in 36 minutes instead of 6 hours by road (credit: MAF Chad)

On 11 June, MAF flew the UN’s International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to Bol in Chad’s Lake Region, following attacks by militant Islamist group ‘Boko Haram’. As the region’s only air operator, MAF is the only safe route for the IOM team to reach the area quickly. MAF’s Annet Nabbanja reports…

Lake Chad – which straddles Chad, Cameroon, Nigeria and Niger – used to be a source of life for fishing communities.

Now, it’s a breeding ground for extremist groups Boko Haram and ISWAP (Islamic State’s West Africa Province) who are fighting each other to take over the region, leaving death and destruction in their wake.

Since 2009, Boko Haram has killed 350,000 people and forced millions to flee their homes (source: The Telegraph).

After Boko Haram spilled over into Chad from Nigeria in 2015, raids on villages, suicide bombings, attacks on the Chadian army, extortion and kidnapping became commonplace.

Since January alone, 319 kidnappings in Chad’s Lake Region have been reported (source: INSO). High ransoms are demanded, but if families can’t raise enough money from selling their land or livestock, their loved ones are executed.

Lake Chad is home to hundreds of islands (credit: MAF Chad)

ISWAP – the faction who broke away from Boko Haram in 2015 – makes £31 million every year by extorting fishing communities (source: Institute for Security Studies).

According to the ISS, nine out of 10 people in Lake Chad rely on fishing and farming to survive, but fishing communities are now living in fear whenever they venture out to fish. They don’t always come back.

Others have abandoned their livelihoods altogether, forcing them deeper into poverty and malnutrition. In Lake Chad, 7.4 million people are now facing acute food insecurity.

Last month in Chad’s Lake Region, Boko Haram killed 24 Chadian soldiers and wounded 46 others. Two days later, they killed two Chadian army generals, sparking three days of national mourning.

Where MAF comes in

Following a spate of attacks by Boko Haram, on 11 June MAF flew Frank Santana and Samba Nzaba Aymar from the UN’s International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to Bol – the capital of Chad’s Lake Region.

IOM has been supporting both host communities and internally displaced people affected by these extremist groups by building emergency shelters, toilets and drilling wells. They’ve also been distributing hygiene kits to communities who are in dire humanitarian need.

Pilot Phil flew IOM’s Frank Santana (L) & Samba Nzaba Aymar (C) to Bol (credit: MAF Chad)

Due to ongoing insecurity and conflict around Lake Chad, it is extremely dangerous to travel by road into the area.

Even if it was safe, the overland journey from the capital N’djamena to Bol would take six hours in good weather. In the rainy season (June to October) when pothole-ridden roads and dirt tracks become mud slides, the journey would take even longer and become more treacherous.

Given that MAF is the only air operator in the country to fly to Chad’s Lake Region right now, Frank is grateful for MAF’s swift and safe flight of 36 minutes:

‘Without this flight, we would need to organise security convoys to and from N’Djamena, which is necessary for safety reasons. When convoys are organised, the journey by road can take up to six hours.’

Frank Santana, Programme Coordinator at IOM & MAF passenger

MAF significantly facilitates IOM’s work by speeding up the deployment of their staff to key areas. Air travel greatly reduces exposure to security risks on the ground and lightens the logistical burden of moving between locations.

To hear more about MAF’s work in Chad, listen to MAF’s special 60^th anniversary edition of the Flying for Life podcast (episode 14).

MAF flies UN to hostile Lake Chad to support terrorised communities

17th June 2026

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