Politically troubled Chad welcomes more refugees fleeing clashes in CAR
The fighting has forced more than 2,000 refugees to cross into Chad in the past week.
CAPE TOWN, April 21 (ANA) – More refugees from the Central African Republic (CAR) have arrived in Chad following recent clashes between government forces and rebel groups in the north of the country, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
The fighting has forced more than 2,000 refugees to cross into Chad in the past week, UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch said at a press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva on Tuesday.
“The new arrivals from CAR’s Kaga-Bandoro region told our teams in Chad that they fled clashes, as well as acts of violence, pillaging or extortion from rebel groups as government forces were closing in on them,” he said.
“As people headed for the border, others from Batangafo and Kabo on the road leading to Chad followed suit due to fear of attacks.”
To reach Chad, people had to wade shoulder-deep through the Grande Sido river, with some carrying their few belongings on their heads.
The refugees are now settled in Gandaza village and the bordering town of Sido, although some are having to resort to crossing back into the CAR to find food or salvage what little is left from their properties, according to UNHCR.
Shelter, food and water, as well as access to sanitation and health care, are the most urgent needs of the refugees. UNHCR’s ability to meet their basic requirements is severely constrained by a lack of funding and resources.
Fighting in northern CAR reignited due to an armed rebellion following contested elections in December, uprooting hundreds of thousands of people inside the country and across borders into neighbouring states.
The influx had considerably slowed since mid-March after government forces and their allies reclaimed most of the rebel strongholds.
The UN agency said this has allowed 37,000 internally displaced people to return to their areas of origin, who now need help to rebuild their lives.
Chad, which is also battling rebel elements, currently hosts close to 11,000 of the total 117,000 Central African refugees who also fled to neighbouring Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Republic of Congo in the wake of the post-electoral violence, which also displaced 164,000 people inside the country.
“The CAR humanitarian crisis is one of the most underfunded UNHCR operations globally, with only 12% of the US$164.7 million requirement currently met despite the scale of displacement. Nearly one-third of the country’s population is now uprooted following a decade of instability,” said Baloch.
Last week, Chad welcomed nearly 2,000 refugees who fled intercommunal clashes in Sudan’s West Darfur State.
About 1,860 refugees, mostly women, children and the elderly, were forced to cross into neighbouring Chad, Baloch said.
The refugees fled their homes in villages near the border in the aftermath of deadly clashes that started on April 3. The violence has reportedly left 144 people dead and more than 230 injured.
Meanwhile, Chadian President Idriss Deby has died of injuries sustained on the front line while fighting rebels in the north of the Sahel, broadcaster Al Jazeera reported on Tuesday, quoting an army spokesperson.
The death of the 68-year-old leader was announced on Tuesday by General Azem Bermandoa Agouna, a day after Deby was declared the winner of the country’s presidential election held on April 11.
– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher