Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
N’Djamena (Fides Service)- The United Nations High Commission for Refugees UNHCR firmly condemns forced recruitment of Sudanese refugees from Darfur by various armed groups in some of the camps run by UNHCR in eastern Chad which is a violation of the civil nature of asylum and the camps.
UNHCR calls on all the sides involved to stop this activity in its camps especially those of Treguine, Breidjing and Farchana. These three camps lie between Abeche main town in east Chad, and the border town of Adre. It emerged from UNCHR surveys and testimonials of refugees that recruitment took place between the afternoon of Friday 17 March and Sunday 19, at the weekend when a reduced number of humanitarian workers were present in the camps.
This is not the first time UNHCR receives such reports. At the beginning of March the agency was informed of forced recruitment in Kounoungou camp near the town of Guereda. Although UNHCR has no certain figures, first estimates say several hundred men were said to have been y recruited at Treguine, Breidjing and Farchana. Refugees said that men and boys involved were mainly aged 15 to 35, some even younger.
Most were recruited by force but some joined voluntarily. It is not clear who is responsible for this operation of recruitment and at this stage UNHCR prefers not to put forward any ideas. However it can say that some recruited refugees who returned to the camps told UNHCR workers they had been taken to training camps over the border in Darfur.
These facts confirm a situation of growing instability on both sides of the Chad/Sudan border, a situation which High Commission António Guterres has denounced for some months. There have also been reports of clashes yesterday in the area between the towns of Ade and Modeina, in east Chad, about 100 km south of Adre. There are no indications that recruitment continued after Sunday 19 March. However some of the younger refugees fearing recruitment could be hiding in local villages outside the Chad camps. After a first investigation in camps last week UNHCR had several level meetings with Chad authorities and insisted that the civil nature of the camps must be guaranteed and respected under every circumstance. Forced recruitment of refugees, particularly of minors in who come to Chad is search of asylum is absolutely unacceptable.
In east Chad in the 12 UNHCR camps along the border there are over 200,000 refugees from the Sudan region of Darfur. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 1/2/2006 righe 39 parole 492)
