Some 10.000 people from the Central African Republic (CAR) – mostly women and children – are stranded in a remote area of southern Chad, having fled renewed fighting in northern CAR, local authorities have told the UN.
Trucks loaded with food aid as well as plastic sheeting and other emergency supplies are to leave for the site on 6th February from the main eastern Chadian town and humanitarian hub of Abéché, according to Annette Rehrl, spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Chad.
UNHCR, which is organising the convoy, is sending eight staff.
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) is sending 82,5 metric tons of food – enough to cover 10.000 people for 15 days, according to Gon Myers of WFP in Chad.
It is not clear how long the 720-km trek will take. Roads are poor and this would be the first UN humanitarian convoy to the area, as it is the first time in several years that CAR refugees have crossed the border at this point, according to Rehrl.
This refugee influx is the largest from CAR into southern Chad in nearly a year. Some 56.000 Central Africans have fled to southern Chad since 2003 and are living in five camps.
Since late 2008, some 100 Central Africans had been arriving monthly, according to UNHCR.
Kilde: www.irinnews.org
