UNHCR shocked and saddened by killing of staff member in southern Chad
Briefing Notes, 7 December 2007
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson William Spindler – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at the press briefing, on 7 December 2007, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
We are shocked and saddened by the killing of a UNHCR staff member in a shooting incident yesterday near Koumra in the south of Chad. The circumstances surrounding the shooting are still not clear and we are working with the Chadian authorities to find out exactly what happened.
Mahmat Mahamadou, a driver based at the UNHCR Field Office in Danamadji in the south of Chad, where UNHCR cares for over 43,000 refugees from the Central African Republic, was returning alone in a vehicle after delivering a staff member to a regular meeting point for transfer of staff members, when he was attacked. The incident happened between Bedaya and Koumra, located 115 km from Sarh in an area that is normally safe.
This is the first fatality UNHCR has suffered in its operations in Chad. We send our deep condolences to the family of Mr Mahamadou.
Crisis in the Central African Republic
Little has been reported about the humanitarian crisis in the northern part of the Central African Republic (CAR), where at least 295,000 people have been forced out of their homes since mid-2005. An estimated 197,000 are internally displaced, while 98,000 have fled to Chad, Cameroon or Sudan. They are the victims of fighting between rebel groups and government forces.
Many of the internally displaced live in the bush close to their villages. They build shelters from hay, grow vegetables and even start bush schools for their children. But access to clean water and health care remains a huge problem. Many children suffer from diarrhoea and malaria but their parents are too scared to take them to hospitals or clinics for treatment.
Cattle herders in northern CAR are menaced by the zaraguina, bandits who kidnap children for ransom. The villagers must sell off their livestock to pay.
Posted on 21 February 2008
Crisis in the Central African Republic
Battling the Elements in Chad
More than 180,000 Sudanese refugees have fled violence in Sudan's Darfur region, crossing the border to the remote desert of eastern Chad.
It is one of the most inhospitable environments UNHCR has ever had to work in. Vast distances, extremely poor road conditions, scorching daytime temperatures, sandstorms, the scarcity of vegetation and firewood, and severe shortages of drinkable water have been major challenges since the beginning of the operation. Now, heavy seasonal rains are falling, cutting off the few usable roads, flooding areas where refugees had set up makeshift shelters, and delaying the delivery of relief supplies.
Despite the enormous environmental challenges, UNHCR has so far managed to establish nine camps and relocate the vast majority of the refugees who are willing to move from the volatile border.
Battling the Elements in Chad
Chad: Relocation from the Border to Refugee Camps
Since fighting broke out in Sudan's western region of Darfur last year, more than 110,000 Sudanese refugees have fled into Chad. They are scattered along a 600-km stretch of desert borderland under a scorching sun during the day and freezing temperatures during the night.
Access to these refugees in this inhospitable region is difficult. Staff of the UN refugee agency drive for days to locate them. Bombing in the border zone and cross-border raids by militia from Sudan put the refugees at risk and underscore the urgent need to move them to camps in the interior. In addition, the approach of the rainy season in May will make the sandy roads impassable. Aid workers are racing against time in an attempt bring emergency relief to these refugees.
Chad: Relocation from the Border to Refugee Camps
Chad: Influx from Central African Republic
The conflict in Central African Republic (CAR) receives far less media attention than that in Darfur, but the effects are much the same. More than 17,000 people have crossed into Chad since January, bringing the total number of CAR refugees to almost 70,000.
Chad: Environmental Challenges
The search for water and firewood is a daily trial for the 250,000 Sudanese refugees from Darfur in eastern Chad. The UN has found ways to alleviate the problems.
Violence In Eastern Chad
In eastern Chad, continued violence threatens the UN refugee agency's fragile humanitarian lifeline to hundreds of thousands of Sudanese refugees and tens of thousands of displaced Chadians.
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