Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
N’Djamena (Fides Service)- “There are at least 135,000 refugees camped along the Chad Sudan border who must be moved to safer places before the rain season starts in May when roads will be closed, Laura Boldrini, spokesperson for the UN High Commission for Refugees UNHCR told Fides with regard to the serious problem of refugees from the western Sudan region of Darfur, the scene of intensified civil war in recent months. The conflict involves at least two rebel groups fighting the Khartoum army on the one hand and on the other pro-government militia groups backed by the regular army.
The Catholic Archbishop of N’Djamena, the capital of Chad, Archbishop Matias N'Garteri, has also appealed for urgent assistance to Sudanese refugees in Chad. The appeal was sent to the head of the Society of Jesus, Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach SJ, who asked the nearest offices of the Jesuit Refugee Service, to start an immediate programme of assistance.
“The situation of the refugees camped along the border is made worse by repeated incursions into Chad territory by pro-government militia” the UNHCR representative affirmed. “Over the past six weeks almost every day there have been reports of raids of militia robbing the refugees of their livestock. which is their only means of sustenance. Hence the urgent need to move them to safer sites”.
“The government of Chad is working with UNHCR to identify suitable sites for refugees camps. But this is not easy and it takes time to identify a site, set up a camp and then move and register the refugees” Laura Boldrini told Fides. “We have appealed for 20 million dollars for operations in Chad but so far only 6 million have arrived”.
In the meantime so far 10,000 Sudanese refugees have been transferred from unstable border areas to camps in the interior of Chad in UNHCR operations to move tens of thousands before the rain season starts in May.
To speed up the transfer operations UNHCR intends to increase the number of convoys to Farchana camp and start moving refugees to three new camps in the next ten days. The UN agency is looking for other camp sites in regions north and south of the border area affected by the fighting.
At present four water holes and 2 new wells supply clean water for 6,000 refugees.
At Bahai UNHCR registered 53 unaccompanied minors aged between 2 and 18, most of the youngsters had fled their villages between January and early February when they saw their villages destroyed by shelling while they were some way off grazing flocks in the bush. UNHCR is working with the local authorities to find parents and other family members in border camps and with the International Red Cross committee to reunite separated families. Five of the children managed to find their parents on their own along the border area of Bahai and Tine. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 15/3/2004, righe 45 parole 558)
