Sudan: Rise in people fleeing to Chad as violence surges

This article is published in association with United Nations.

The number of Sudanese refugees in Chad has more than tripled in just over two years amid the ongoing war in their homeland, the UN refugee agency UNHCR said in an alert on Tuesday.

Overall, some 1.2 million Sudanese have found shelter in eastern Chad, mostly after fleeing intensifying violence in their country. 

More than 844,000 crossed the border after war broke out in Sudan in April 2023. Prior to this, Chad was hosting roughly 409,000 Sudanese refugees who had fled earlier conflict in Darfur.

‘A crisis of humanity’

The situation is “a crisis of humanity”, said UNHCR’s Principal Situation Coordinator in Chad, Dossou Patrice Ahouansou.

The latest wave of displacement began in April following attacks by armed groups in North Darfur. Violence has surged since war erupted in Sudan in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Camps for people uprooted by the most recent violence have been attacked including Zamzam and Abu Shouk, along with the town of El Fasher, killing more than 300 civilians. 

Last Thursday, the UN World Food Programme’s facility in El Fasher was repeatedly shelled, according to a report from UN aid coordination office OCHA.

A day later, Eldaman International Hospital in Al Obeid was struck by a drone attack, killing at least six health workers and injuring more than 15 others.

Both attacks were reportedly carried out by the RSF.

Exodus and arrival

In just over a month, 68,556 refugees have crossed into Chad’s Wadi Fira and Ennedi Est provinces, at an average of 1,400 new arrivals per day.

More than seven in 10 “report serious human rights violations — physical and sexual violence, arbitrary detention, forced recruitment”, said Mr. Ahouansou.

Based on interviews with 6,810 newly arrived refugees, he said that six out of 10 reported being separated from their family members.

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Horrendous testimonies

Mr. Ahouansou spoke of seven-year-old Hawa, whose family home in Zamzam was bombed. After her mother was killed, she fled to the Zamzam camp for internally displaced people. 

“There again had been bombing” and this time it killed Hawa’s father and two brothers, he said. 

With only her 18-year-old sister remaining, Hawa escaped to Chad. She was severely injured and had to have a leg amputated.

“It’s difficult to hear, but this is the reality,” said Mr. Ahouansou, emphasizing that there were thousands facing similar situations.

The UNHCR official also recounted chilling testimonies of forced labour along the perilous journeys, where many reportedly die because of the heat and lack of water.

“When armed groups see you leaving, they decide to let the donkey or the horse go. And you, as a human being, as a man… they will use you as a horse and ask you now to draw all your family members,” he said.

Funding shortfalls

Despite efforts by humanitarian actors and local authorities, the emergency response remains severely underfunded.

Just 14 per cent of shelter needs have been met and refugees receive only five litres of water per person per day — far below the 15–20 litre international standard. Around 239,000 refugees remain stranded at the border.

“The lives and futures of millions of innocent civilians hang in the balance,” said UNHCR spokesperson Eujin Byun, who stressed that this was also a “crisis of women and children” as they make up to nine out of 10 refugees crossing the border.

“Without a significant increase in funding, life-saving assistance cannot be delivered at the scale and at the speed that is required,” Mr. Ahouansou said.