Around 12,000 Sudanese have sought refuge in Chad in the past few days after government forces, reportedly supported by Janhaweed milita conducted lethal ground and air attacks against Sirba, Sileah and Abu Suruj in West Darfur. The Sudanese government defended the bombing as a strike against the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), as the targeted areas are known for being a stronghold of the Sudanese opposition group. But the JEM fighters pointed out that they were not in the bombed villages and mainly civilians have been killed in the violence. A refugee from Sileah reported that the attacks nearly destroyed Abu Suruj and heavily damaged some of the IDP camps in the Darfur region.

Around 4,000 – 6,000 people have sought shelter in and around Birak in eastern Chad since the Friday attacks; approximately the same number of Sudanese has fled to Koruk, also in the Birak region. Most of those refugees had already been displaced before and had to flee anew. “They are really tired of being attacked and having to move”, commented Jorge Holly, head of the UNHCR field office in Chad, on their situation. The displaced Sudanese are often traumatised and in poor health condition. There are also a high number of unaccompanied children separated from their families on the run. And as the violence continues in Darfur, more people are expected to be displaced during the following days and weeks.

More than 240,000 refugees are currently living in the 12 UNCHR shelters in the border region where the displaced Sudanese sought refuge. The water and food supplies in the overcrowded camps are limited, the sanitary and health conditions poor. Furthermore, armed rebel groups destabilise the security situation in the areas around the IDP camps. Therefore, the arrivals to the camps are in a very precarious situation while awaiting the removal to UNHCR camps over the next few days. An emergency mission was started on Sunday by UNCHR and other humanitarian organisations in order to register the refugees and relocate them towards camps in the Guereda region in Chad. Until then, most of the refugees have to stay outside the IDP camps, living under trees and in makeshift shelters.

On top of it all, the Sudanese refugees have sought shelter in Chad while the country’s security situation is deteriorating. Heavy fighting between armed opposition groups and government forces are unsettling the country and have forced thousands of Chadians to flee to neighbouring countries. Chad’s Prime Minister, Nouradine Delwa Kassire Koumakoye, accused Sudan of being at the bottom of the agitations in Chad and suspected that his country was being attacked by Sudan because of the displaced Darfuris seeking shelter in Chad. On Monday Koumakoye announced that Chad cannot absorb any more refugees from Darfur and called on the international community to remove them from Chad. “We are simply demanding that they be moved, otherwise we will do it"' the Chadian Prime Minister said. If Koumakoye should put his warning into action and expell the approximately 250,000 refugees living in camps near the Chad-Sudan border, it would not only be a violation of international laws but tantamount to a humanitarian crisis. “This is mere trading and bargaining on the issue of the Sudanese refugees along the borderline with Chad”, a refugee commissioner said. Until now local Chadian authorities have continued to cooperate, but it is unclear how the situation will be tomorrow.

You might also be interested in reading the following articles:

Chad refugee’s gruelling escape, BBC News, 5 February 2008

Thousands of refugees flee attacks in Darfur, cross border to Chad, UNHCR, 10 February 2008

Thousands of refugees flee Darfur and seek shelter in Chad, Reuters, 11 February 2008

Chad ‘cannot take more refugees’, BBC News, 11 February 2008

Chad: Latest Darfur arrivals in precarious situation, UNHCR, 12 February 2008

Latest Darfur refugees face risk along border, UN agency warns, UN News, 12 February 2008

EU force resumes Chad deployment, BBC News, 12 February 2008

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