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Chad issues call at UN for aid to help face influx of citizens fleeing Libya

President Idriss Déby of Chad
President Idriss Déby of Chad

Chad issues call at UN for aid to help face influx of citizens fleeing Libya

Chad today called for continued international aid to carry out the tasks it has taken over from a United Nations peacekeeping force to protect hundreds of thousands of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs), as well as in dealing with the influx of Chadians fleeing Libya.

“On this point the Government is aware that this task entails a cost that it cannot finance alone,” Chadian President Idriss Déby told the General Assembly on the second day of its annual general debate, referring to Chad’s integrated security detachment, which at the end of last year took over the task of protecting refugees and IDPs that had previously been performed by the UN Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT).

“Despite its limited means this force is accomplishing its mission on the ground perfectly and deserves to be supported,” he said. “It is desirable that our partners continue their efforts by our side the logistical and financial support required for the proper functioning of this system.”

He noted that Chad hosts 290,000 refugees from Sudan’s Darfur region and 180,000 Chadian IDPs in the country’s east, and 100,000 refugees from the Central African Republic (CAR) in the southwest. On top of that nearly 100,000 Chadian citizens have been forced to leave Libya during the fighting that toppled Colonel Muammar al-Qadhafi.

“The international community must help us contain the dramatic effects of this massive movement of people by helping the victims through programmes of economic reintegration,” Mr. Déby stressed, calling on Libya’s National Transition Council (NTC) to protect sub-Saharan African migrants, who with their work contributed to the North African country’s development and are now, sometimes without thought, classified as mercenaries.

In a separate meeting with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, he discussed the situation in Libya and its humanitarian impact on Chad. Mr. Ban assured him of continued UN support for the Government’s efforts to address the influx of Chadian citizens returning from Libya.