Medical group seeks aid for Sudan refugees in Chad
NDJAMENA/NAIROBI, Dec 17, 2003 (dpa) — Up to 26,000 refugees in Chad who fled war in neighbouring Sudan urgently need food, water, clothing, shelter, and other basic supplies, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said Wednesday.
“Conditions they face on arrival are harsh,” said Sonia Peyrassol, MSF Emergency Coordinator at the Chad/Sudan border.
“Having walked for up to three days to escape the violence around their homes, they are greeted by totally inadequate shelter, a dire lack of protection and insufficient food.
“This is exacerbated by extreme weather conditions, with the temperature fluctuating between 0 degrees at night and 30 degrees during the day,” she said.
MSF criticised the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR for failing to respond quickly and adequately to the crisis.
The latest group of refugees fled the northwestern Sudan region of Darfur, where rebels of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Sudanese government have been engaged in long-running air and ground battles.
The SLA claims that Arab militias that have been attacking and raiding in the area are being backed by the Sudanese government, while the government claims that the militias are criminals with no government backing.
“In the past fortnight, there has been more displacement, more human rights violations, and less access for aid workers,” the U.N.s children agency (UNICEF) said in a statement last week.
According to UNICEF, more than 750,000 people have been displaced by the conflict.
The 26,000 refugees currently in Chad had arrived there since the beginning of January, said MSF. The first wave of refugees from Darfur – estimated to be about 60,000 people – came to Chad in July of this year and were able to integrate into the local population, said MSF.
“The increasing number of arrivals has now left the region entirely unable to cope,” said the MSF in a press release.
The Darfur conflict has not been discussed in the on-going peace talks between the Sudanese government and the country’s main rebel group, the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement/Army.
Opposition leaders warned that, unless the situation in Darfur is addressed, any peace deal signed between the two will be ineffective, the U.N. news agency IRNI reported Wednesday.