At least 20,000 people took refuge in eastern Chad since clashes erupted in Sudan: IOM

By Majdi Ismail

TUNIS, Tunisia (AA) – At least 20,000 people have taken refuge in eastern Chad since clashes erupted in neighboring Sudan some two weeks ago, according to International Organization for Migration (IOM).

"Most of the people who came to Chad need urgent humanitarian needs, such as food, water ,and accommodation," IOM mission chief in Chad Anne Kathrin Schaefer said in a statement on Thursday.

She added that humanitarian agents are recording the arrivals, and most of them are nationals of Chad or Sudan, or from other countries.

IOM agents are working day and night along the 1,400-kilometer (870-mile) long border, and are cooperating with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in three centers for displaced persons.

The IOM will also assist the refugees’ consular processes, the mission chief said.

Sudan is hosting a record high number of 1.3 million migrants, according to UN figures.

Due to its geographical location, just south of Libya, Chad is one of the main axes on the migration route in Africa.

"The international community must increase its financial support urgently to help us give a rapid response to growing needs, in terms of logistical and operational assistance, as well as protection, health, mental health and psychosocial assistance," Schaefer also stressed.

The rain season is approaching, she said, "which will complicate reaching the border area."

At least 460 people have been killed in Sudan and more than 4,000 injured in clashes between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since the conflict began on April 14, according to the Sudanese Health Ministry.

*Writing by Nur Asena Erturk in Ankara