Continued militia incursions across border with Chad

NAIROBI, Sept 30, 2003 (IRIN) — An estimated 2,000 militia from Darfur in western Sudan launched an attack in neighbouring Chad on Sunday, rounding up 800 camels and driving them across the border.

The camels, which are a key source of livelihood in this desert region of eastern Chad, were stolen from nomads in Koulbous, about 20 km north of Birak town, said Sonia Peyrassol, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) Operational Coordinator for Chad.

The Chadian army, which has been given permission to cross the Sudanese border to fight invading militia groups, had since secured the area, she told IRIN on Tuesday.

Birak is one of the remote Chadian border towns trying to cope with the influx of thousands of Sudanese refugees who since April have fled from Darfur to escape militia attacks, ground fighting and bombings.

An estimated 15,000 people are camped around the town, with another 20,000 in Tine (according to the Chadian government), and about 30,00 others scattered in different locations along the 400 km insecure border.

An “influx” of the Sudanese refugees turned up at the MSF health centre outside of Birak, which opened on Sunday, Peyrassol told IRIN. Diarrhoea and respiratory problems were the most common health problems, while a small number had bullet wounds, she said. The initial number of severely malnourished children who had been brought to the centre was “alarming”, she added.

While the earlier influxes of refugees crossing the border had stopped, small numbers – between five and 10 – were continuing to cross the border from Darfur each night and during the early morning hours, she said.

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has said that because of the continuing rainy season and unsafe border area, accessing the refugees is proving extremely difficult. UNHCR plans to give out relief items in areas where there are large concentrations of people, such as Tine, Birak and Farachana, and is working on regrouping the refugees into main sites which have been proposed by the local authorities.

“We remain very concerned about the safety of the refugees, many of whom are living too close to the volatile border,” said UNHCR spokesman Peter Kessler last week.