2023-04-20 07:40:31
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees announced the arrival of an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 new Sudanese refugees in Chad, following the outbreak of fighting between the army and the Rapid Support Forces in separate parts of Sudan.
Laura Lo Castro, representative of the UNHCR in Chad, said – in a tweet on Twitter – that humanitarian agencies are monitoring the arrival of new Sudanese refugees in neighboring Chad, as fighting intensifies in Sudan.
The UN official stated that a joint mission was conducted with the World Food Program, UNICEF, and the Chadian National Committee responsible for refugees to monitor the influx of new Sudanese refugees in eastern Chad with the aim of “assessing urgent needs and agreeing on a response plan.”
The UNHCR representative warned that the new arrivals would face a situation characterized by high humanitarian needs and chronic underfunding.
Last week, before the outbreak of the military conflict in Sudan, the World Food Program warned that hundreds of thousands of refugees and internally displaced people in Chad could face starvation due to a lack of funding for food assistance from May onwards.
‘catastrophic health situation’
According to reports, fighting continues in separate areas of the capital, Khartoum, and other areas, in light of the fact that many hospitals are out of service and there is a significant shortage of basic services.
The United Nations has renewed its call to protect civilians and refrain from targeting schools and medical facilities, in the midst of the ongoing fighting, with no indication of a real decline in the fighting.
United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric called on all parties to respect international law, including the obligation to ensure the safety and security of all United Nations and associated personnel, premises and assets and all humanitarian workers.
Dujarric said that the representative of the Secretary-General in Sudan, Mr. Volker Peretz, is still in Khartoum, “and he continues to communicate with Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, and other major countries on the ground in the context of efforts to secure an immediate de-escalation and end to the fighting.” “.
Even before the outbreak of the clashes, humanitarian needs in Sudan were at their highest levels, with a third of the population – 16 million people – in need of humanitarian assistance.
The fighting has prompted UN agencies and their partners to suspend many of the more than 250 humanitarian programs across Sudan.
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