Situation worsens for Darfur refugees fleeing to Chad: UNHCR

GENEVA, July 11, 2004 (dpa) — Conditions affecting refugees fleeing the crisis- hit Darfur region of Sudan have been exacerbated by the rainy season which is making some roads into Chad unpassable, the United Nations warned Sunday.

Particularly affected are women and children, the U.N. humanitarian organization (UNHCR) said in Geneva, citing information from local humanitarian teams in the area.

In the coming weeks the UNHCR wants to fly an additional 180 tons of assistance to Chad. From Denmark it plans to transport 50,000 blankets, 20,000 water cans, in addition to cooking utensils and other goods.

Since the beginning of the year the agency has delivered more than 2,000 tons of auxiliary goods into neighbouring Chad, it said.

The organization estimates that up to 200,000 refugees from Darfur must be supplied at least till the end of the year in Chad.

Assaults by militias in the Darfur region have caused about 1.2 million to flee their homes.