Chad calls for international assistance in the face of the influx of Sudanese refugees

Chad, where new refugees fleeing the war in Sudan are pouring in by the tens of thousands, called on Saturday, June 24, for “massive aid” from the international community, which it accuses of “leaving it almost alone” in the face of a crisis. “unprecedented” humanitarianism.

“The mobilization of the international community (…) is not up to the mobilization observed under other skies, leaving Chad almost alone in the face of welcoming refugees by exhausting its own resources as much as possible”, asserted , Saturday, before diplomats and representatives of international organizations Prime Minister Saleh Kebzabo.

Already in early June, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had sounded the alarm by announcing that more than 100,000 Sudanese, mainly women and children from Darfur, had crossed the border in the east. of Chad in a month and a half of conflict. Adding to more than 680,000 refugees already present in this semi-desert country in Central Africa, 60% of whom are Sudanese.

And the UN agency then deplored that the funding needs to help them were only 16% covered by the international community. “Chad is seeking support and massive technical and financial assistance from countries and organizations” and “an international conference (…) on the mobilization of funds” to help it deal with an “unprecedented migration crisis”, declared Mr. Kebzabo in a speech, the text of which was transmitted by his services to AFP.

“Solidarity”

Adding to the tens of thousands of refugees from Cameroon in the west, from the Central African Republic in the south, and more than 409,000 Sudanese already present in the east since the deadly conflict of the 2000s and 2010s in Darfur, new refugees have been flocking since the beginning, on April 15, of the civil war between the two generals who are vying for power in Khartoum.

Chad and Sudan share an extremely porous border of more than 1,300 km in the middle of the desert.

The refugees “benefited from the solidarity of the host populations who welcomed them and shared their meager resources”, but “Chad is increasingly exposed to internal crises linked to the scarcity of its resources” in a country in the “already fragile economy”, alarmed the Prime Minister.

“Without your concern, your solidarity and your heart, Chad will not be able to bear the weight of this crisis”, he concluded before the representatives of the international community.