Report

Chad: Humanitarians overwhelmed by number and state of Sudanese refugees

Audio 01:32

Women wait under the sun for a World Food Programme food distribution in Koufroun, near the Sudanese border, April 29, 2023. © Carole Valade / RFI

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2 min

In the far east of Chad, more than 20,000 Sudanese fleeing fighting have taken refuge in the village of Koufroun, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. While the humanitarian response is underway and food distributions have begun, every day families continue to arrive and humanitarians find themselves in a challenge, while populations are in situations of extreme need.

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With our special envoy in Koufroun, Carol Valade

On the border between Chad and Sudan, a dusty, dry and burning wind blows. Carrying four children on a small cart, Dahbaye Yaya crosses the last meters that separate her from Chad: "Over there in Sudan, the fighting continues, there is no truce. People are being killed, their houses are being burned, they have burned my crops. The men fled, the army fled, we all fled, there were many deaths. I want to stay here in Chad, I'm not going to go back there, I lost everything.

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Less than a week after the conflict began, the World Food Programme (WFP) began food distributions under the supervision of its emergency manager Zo Eorintany: "We see people who can't even get up, it's among the most difficult things in this work. There are other people who come here because they are hungry and they have heard that we are distributing, so they travel miles to come and get assistance as well.

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Due to lack of resources, WFP distributes stocks earmarked for other refugees. And it is a real logistical challenge for its director, Pierre Honorat:

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To feed a population of 20,000people, it is very very impressive amounts to move, and this period of rains that will arrive cuts access with large rivers that arrive very suddenly in the desert and prevent any vehicle from passing. So it's really a race.

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Time is also running out for those who have not been able to flee, trapped in the fighting in the town of El Geneina, less than 30 km away.

► Read also: Sudan: the UN demands security guarantees after the theft of 17,000 tons of humanitarian aid

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Read on on the same topics:

  • Chad
  • Sudan
  • Humanitarian
  • UN
  • Refugees
  • Immigration