Chad: Central African Refugees moved away from border in south

In southern Chad, UNHCR has started transferring some of the estimated 14,000 refugees who recently fled insecurity in the Central African Republic (CAR) away from the border to a temporary transit site 25 km further inland. A first group of 693 people was relocated on Saturday from the border town of Maya to a temporary transit site near the village of Dembo.

By the end of the week, we expect to have moved around 4,250 refugees to the Dembo site opened by UNHCR, its partner African Concern and local authorities. Refugees get tents, blankets, mats, jerry cans and plastic sheeting from UNHCR when they arrive and the World Food Programme is organizing a food distribution.

We plan to further relocate the refugees from Dembo to established refugee camps near Goré, the main town in south Chad, as Dembo is vulnerable to flooding during the upcoming rainy season

The 14,000 refugees have fled rebel and bandit attacks in the north-west CAR since the beginning of the year. These threats also exist in the border region. Before this latest influx, southern Chad was hosting some 45,000 Central Africans in four camps.