Over 55,000 Sudanese flee to eastern Chad amid ongoing fighting
Daily arrivals surge to more than 400 over past week as fighting, insecurity worsen in Sudan.
More than 55,000 Sudanese refugees have fled to eastern Chad since the beginning of the year as fighting and worsening insecurity continue to drive displacement, the UN refugee agency said on Friday.
More than 400 people a day have crossed through the Adre and Tine border areas over the past week, around 20 times the daily rate recorded in recent months, Mamadou Dian Balde, UN regional refugee coordinator for the Sudan situation, told reporters in Geneva.
Since the war in Sudan erupted in April 2023, nearly 1 million refugees have crossed into Chad.
Balde said the situation remains particularly dire in Darfur, while fighting, air strikes and drone attacks in Kordofan and Blue Nile states are also forcing people to flee.
Sudan remains the world's largest displacement crisis, with some 11.3 million people forcibly displaced, including 6.4 million within the country.
More than 3.5 million Sudanese refugees and asylum-seekers have fled to countries across the region, according to UNHCR.
The agency said only 18% of the $1.6 billion required for the regional refugee response plan has been received.
"Without greater humanitarian and development support, the situation for the millions displaced will deteriorate further, increasing pressure on refugees to make impossible decisions, such as returning to Sudan before conditions are safe or undertaking dangerous onward journeys in search of safety and stability," Balde said.