The United Nations refugee agency on Tuesday warned that renewed fighting between government troops and rebels in eastern Chad has limited its access to refugee camps amid a heightened sense of insecurity.
The fighting, mainly in the regions of Farchana, Iribia, Bilitine and Guereda, has not sparked any exodus but has ratcheted up tensions and worries among vulnerable sections of society, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said.
”Refugees, internally displaced persons as well as the local population have told UNHCR that they live in fear that the already volatile situation may worsen,” UNHCR spokesperson Andrej Mahecic told journalists.
Refugee camps housing 210 000 people from the troubled Sudanese region of Darfur ”are starting to suffer the consequences of the volatile situation” as UNHCR and its partners only had limited access due to the violence, he said.
Over 130 humanitarian aid workers from different organisations were blocked for over a week in the town of Hadjer Hadid, due to the violence, before returning to the eastern city of Abeche, he added. — Sapa-AFP