ReliefWeb

Intracommunal conflict in Chad pushes some 8,300 people into Darfur – and counting

Over 6000 men, women and children fled to Tina town and Karnoi locality in North Darfur due to fighting between different groups of the Zaghwa tribe on the other side of the border, in Tina, Chad. In addition, some 2,300 people were displaced from Chad into the Jebel Moon area in West Darfur. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and partners are providing urgently needed assistance while an assessment of the evolving situation is underway.

On 13 and 14 February, fighting erupted between different sub-groups of the Zaghawa tribe mainly in Tina town, Duguba and Iriba in Eastern Chad.
More than 6000 individuals have since arrived in Tina locality in North Darfur, among them Sudanese with refugee status in Chad, Chadians and Sudanese who are living on the Chadian side of the border. Local authorities formed a committee to register the new arrivals. Some 100 people have since returned to their villages of origin in Karnoi, Sudan and were received by native administrations and local authorities. The situation in Chad remains tense and according to reports, fighting and displacement are still going on.

UNHCR has conducted two joint assessment missions together with the Commissioner for Refugees, the Voluntary Return and Reintegration Commission and the Humanitarian Affairs Commission and has found that the majority of the new arrivals is currently living out in the open. As a result, a food distribution by WFP in cooperation with UNHCR started for 5000 individuals on 23 February. Several displaced individuals shared their hope with UNHCR that the tensions will be resolved by tribe leaders, allowing them to return to Chad, once the security situation improves.
In a different development based on the same intracommunal conflict further South in Chad, 2,300 men, women and children have been forced into the Jebel Moon area of West Darfur. According to initial reports, most of them are Sudanese refugees and other Sudanese citizens living in Chad.

Key Challenges

■ The majority of the newly arrived individuals stay out in the open, exposed to the elements. They lack shelter and Non-Food Items.

■ Vulnerable people such as pregnant women or those suffering from diarrhoea and malnutrition, cannot get the medicine they would need.

■ The legal status of those forced to flee is difficult to establish due to the mixed population and the population movements that are typical for the area.