Worsening violence deepens humanitarian crisis in Chad, UN relief wing warns

Volatile security conditions and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the area around Dogdoré in eastern Chad threaten the lives of 26,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs), United Nations humanitarian officials warned today.

“Humanitarian operations remain suspended in Dogdoré, with the exception of urgent activities such as responses to medical emergencies and the provision of drinking water,” said Philippe Verstraeten of the Office of the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) for Chad.

A number of aid agencies suspended almost all operations last month, affecting the provision of health services, the supply of clean water, and the delivery of nutritional supplements among other activities aimed at assisting the most vulnerable.

Eastern Chad currently shelters 315,000 refugees – the majority being Sudanese escaping from the conflict in Darfur – and 180,000 IDPs, all of whom depend on aid to survive.

The humanitarian agencies have pleaded with the Government to provide security to their staff and assets while asking the UN Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad, known as MINURCAT, to reinforce its presence in those areas closest to Chad’s eastern border with the Sudan, including Dogdoré.

Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes also urged the Government to “step up its efforts to improve security conditions in those areas, in the interest of the protection of civilians, so that full-scale humanitarian operations may soon resume.”

“I call on the Government of Chad to work closely with humanitarians on these issues, and I furthermore call on all belligerent parties to allow humanitarian activities to continue without hindrance,” added Mr. Holmes, who is also Emergency Relief Coordinator.

Mr. Holmes is slated to travel to Chad later this year amid a humanitarian crisis that is affecting over half a million refugees and IDPs and shows no sign of receding.