Over 600,000 Sudanese refugees flee to Chad amid growing conflict: UNHCR

The crisis in eastern Chad has reached a critical point, with urgent international support needed for refugees.

The conflict in Sudan has led to the displacement of over 600,000 refugees, predominantly women and children, who have fled to Chad, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported on Tuesday. This mass exodus has significantly strained resources and created a humanitarian crisis in eastern Chad, prompting urgent calls for international assistance.

"The conflict in Sudan has forced over 600,000 refugees and 180,000 Chadian returnees, the vast majority of them women and children, to flee into Chad, with more than 115,000 arriving since the start of 2024," the agency said. 

Despite efforts to manage the influx, the situation shows no signs of abating, with approximately 630 people crossing the border daily in May.

One-third of the new arrivals in Chad are currently living in precarious conditions at sites along the border, making the already critical humanitarian situation even worse.

The UNHCR warned that the Chad-Sudan border situation was "deteriorating rapidly" due to ongoing fighting in Darfur, predicting further displacement. Earlier on Tuesday, the Coordination of Resistance Committees in El Fasher, North Darfur, reported that at least four people were killed and 16 injured in clashes between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group at the Abu Shouk camp.

The UNHCR has made an urgent appeal for $80 million to construct three additional sites with essential services and infrastructure to accommodate an anticipated 150,000 new arrivals. The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) reported that over 10 million people have been displaced inside and outside Sudan since April 15, 2023.

The conflict in Sudan erupted in April 2023 between army General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo over disagreements about integrating the RSF into the military. The violence has killed nearly 16,000 people and caused a devastating humanitarian crisis in Sudan, according to UN figures.