Chad: over 50,000 Sudanese now moved away from border, new camps planned

More than 50,000 Sudanese refugees have now moved from the Chad-Sudan border to camps in the interior of Chad. Four camps have been set up in the northern part of the affected border zone - Farchana camp hosts 10,287 refugees, Touloum has 11,279, Iridimi has 10,796, and Kounoungo has 8,269. Further to the south, one camp has been established so far at Goz-Amer, which currently shelters 9,957 refugees. In total, 50,588 refugees are registered in the five camps.

We plan to open two new camps soon in the north - Mille and Am Nabak - and one new camp in the south at Asterena, 22 km north-east of Goz Beida. The new camp in the south will take in refugees who have been living in the border town of Tissi, at the southernmost edge of the 600-km stretch of border affected by the refugee influx. Together with the Chadian governmental agency CNAR, we have registered some 7,300 refugees in Tissi, and convoys from Tissi are scheduled to start at the end of this week. Each truck convoy from Tissi to the new camp will take two days due to the distance and the poor condition of the roads. The threat of possible bandit attacks means that convoys cannot travel overnight. In addition to the refugees from Tissi, Asterena camp should also host refugees transferred from Ade, where we have registered 9,382 refugees.

Meanwhile, in the north, registration of refugees near the border continues in Kariari, where CNAR has registered 10,864 refugees so far. Another 15,320 refugees have been registered in the border town of Bahai. Once the registration is completed, UNHCR and its partners will organize a food and non-food distribution in the area.

At the same time, the more than 10,000 refugees in the Touloum camp began moving into tents this weekend. They have been staying in temporary shelters made from plastic sheeting on the site. More than 1,200 tents have been set up to receive them and provide more adequate shelter, and another 400 tents will be put in place in the coming days.