UNHCR urges support for Chad to deal with Sudanese refugees

YAOUNDE, Cameroon - The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has called on the international community to increase its support for Chad to address the influx of Sudanese refugees into the eastern part of the country, reported Xinhua.

Thousands of new Sudanese refugees arrived between June 15 and 18 in Adre, the main town in Chad's Assoungha department in the Ouaddai region, which is very close to the country's eastern border with Sudan, UNHCR Chad Representative Laura Lo Castro tweeted earlier Monday.

According to Castro, hundreds of injured, lost and traumatised children continue to arrive in Chad, compounding a serious humanitarian emergency with no resources to respond.

Nearly 116,000 Sudanese refugees have arrived in eastern Chad since the crisis began, surpassing the initial six-month estimate of 100,000 in less than two months, the UNHCR said in a statement on Sunday.

The statement predicted that 250,000 refugees, as well as 60,000 returned Chadian migrants and third-country nationals could be expected to arrive by the end of 2023 because of instability, ongoing armed violence and intercommunal conflict in Sudan. - BERNAMA-XINHUA