Mass crises: Chad appeals for help over the impact of the conflict in Sudan

Ahmed Adel

Chad is experiencing an acute crisis as a result of the influx of a large number of Sudanese fleeing the war in Sudan, which has led to a shortage of basic needs, a shortage of gas and fuel, an interruption of electricity and water, and a rise in food prices in Chad.

Flood of those fleeing

Chad accused the international community of abandoning it in the face of the flood of people fleeing the war in Sudan, and it called for aid to confront this situation that has burdened it while it was already suffering from a financial crisis.

Chadian Prime Minister Saleh Kebzabo told diplomats and representatives of international organizations that the mobilization of the international community has not reached the level of mobilization observed elsewhere, leaving Chad practically alone in the face of receiving refugees, while exhausting its own resources to the maximum extent.

In early June, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees announced that more than 100,000 Sudanese, mostly women and children from Darfur, had crossed the border into eastern Chad in a month and a half of the conflict, adding to the more than 680,000 refugees present in this semi-desert country in Central Africa, 60 percent of whom are Sudanese.

The UN agency then regretted that only 16 percent of its needs to finance its aid have been covered by the international community.

The Chadian prime minister said that his country is seeking huge technical and financial support and assistance from countries and organizations, in addition to an international conference to mobilize funds to help it deal with the unprecedented migration crisis.

Flow of refugees

In addition to tens of thousands of refugees from Cameroon in the west, from the Central African Republic in the south, and more than 409,000 Sudanese in the east, new refugees have flowed in since the war in Sudan began on April 15. The length of the border between Chad and Sudan is more than 1,300 km.

Prime Minister Kebzabo said that the refugees benefited from the solidarity of the host population who welcomed them and shared with them their meager resources, but Chad is increasingly exposed to internal crises linked to the scarcity of its resources in a country suffering from an already fragile economy.

“Without your interest, solidarity and sincere enthusiasm, Chad will not be able to shoulder the burden of this crisis alone,” he told representatives of the international community.

This complaint comes as millions of civilians continue to suffer in Khartoum and the Darfur region as a result of the raging war between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), where diplomatic efforts have failed to find a way out so far.

Warplanes and machine guns shook homes again in Khartoum, where civilians hide inside their homes for fear of bombing.

According to the United Nations, 1.5 million Sudanese have left the capital, Khartoum, since the war broke out in mid-April between the army, led by Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo “Hemedti”.

Political and economic problems

Samar Abdullah, a researcher of African affairs, said that with the Sudanese crisis igniting and reaching its climax, 100,000 Sudanese arrived in Chad, most of them women and children from Darfur. They were able to cross the border into eastern Chad, which raised political, economic and security problems that made Chad seek the help of the international community to save it from all the crises that befell it as a result of the influx of refugees.

She confirmed in a special statement to the Reference that the financial crisis that occurred in Chad as a result of the refugee crisis made it request the international community to inject financial aid to save it from its stumbling block after 100,000 refugees took refuge in it, joining the 680,000 refugees present in this semi-desert country in Central Africa, 60 percent of whom are Sudanese.

Abdullah added that the refugees represent a burden on the Chadian economy, which has been greatly affected by global crises and ongoing wars, as they need aid for food and basic needs, which casts a shadow on education and health as well. This is a difficult burden for any country to bear in light of huge economic suffering, so the Chadian authorities appealed to the international community to extend a helping hand with financial and food assistance to lift the burden.

Security crises

Security crises are a reason why the authorities in any country fear refugees, because of the terrorism-related crises they represent, she continued.

Abdullah pointed out that Sudanese families face a great danger at the level of education, as children lose the ability to receive quality education, and this of course affects Chadian children, especially as refugees crowd them out in educational opportunities, and hence comes the role of the UNHCR to help refugees in different countries at all levels.