Chad and Refugees from Darfur

Africa hosts the most refugees and traditionally has shown them great generosity. The Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west. Due to its distance from the sea and its largely desert climate, the country is sometimes referred to as the “Dead Heart of Africa”. As the plight of refugees from Darfur continues, CNN reports on refugee challenges faced by Chad:

Refugee camps in eastern Chad house about 300,000 people who fled violence in the Darfur region of Sudan.

“The situation is so serious that our representative in Chad is now at the border trying to find a solution to this problem, which is leaving the refugees extremely exposed and vulnerable,” the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said in a news release.

“The area is highly insecure with roaming armed groups posing a real threat to the refugees and aid workers.”

Chad is experiencing an influx of refugees as a new wave of displaced people flees from Sudan’s Darfur region, which has endured years of violence.

Roughly 200,000 people have been killed and at least 2 million others have been displaced, with nomadic Arab Janjaweed militias — allegedly allied with the Sudanese government — targeting pastoral blacks.

An estimated 12,000 refugees from Darfur have streamed into Chad recently adding to the 240,000 in camps there already.

“We are very disturbed that in eastern Chad on Tuesday our efforts to move traumatized, newly arrived refugees from West Darfur away from the volatile border to camps was blocked by the presence of unknown armed elements,” UNHCR said. Click here for the rest of the story.

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