UN seeks $183 million in 2005 to aid Darfur refugees in Chad

Faced with a large-scale influx into Chad of refugees from the fighting in Sudan's Darfur region and the prospect of new waves fleeing across the border, the United Nations is calling for nearly $183 million to cater for a whole list of urgent needs in 2005, a 10 per cent increase over this year.

During the last 16 months, some 200,000 people have fled into eastern Chad, leading to growing tensions between the refugees and the local population as the two groups increasingly compete for scarce water, food and land, and endangering the economic and political stability of the impoverished country as a whole.

"Unless the conflict in western Sudan is resolved, new waves of refugees must be anticipated," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said. "This additional demographic pressure would exacerbate the already precarious security and humanitarian situation, including increased food insecurity."

Among its priorities OCHA listed the essential needs of both refugees and the local population, including water, agriculture, animal rearing and food security and basic services such as health and education.

The Consolidated Appeal (CAP) launched last month totals $182,691,840 to implement 64 projects, compared with the revised 2004 figure of $166 million, of which $129,430 603 or 78.2 per cent had been funded as of October. It is part of an overall $1.6 billion requested by the United Nations to fund its worldwide relief programmes next year.

The 2004 CAP initially sought just $30.1 million but as the situation continued to deteriorate, requirements were revised to enable organizations to better address the needs of a growing number of refugees.

Some 1.65 million people overall have been displaced by the Darfur conflict, in which Janjaweed militias stand accused of killing and raping thousands of villagers after rebels took up arms last year to demand a greater share of economic resources. In May this year, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Humans Rights (OHCHR) presented a report to the Security Council revealing violations of human rights consisting of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The report indicated evidence of abuses committed by the Sudanese Government and the Janjaweed militia including forced displacements, assassination of civilians and rape. The violence in Darfur included attacks by the Janjaweed in the border areas between Sudan and Chad.