News Center — Refugee camps in eastern Chad are facing a shortage in providing basic humanitarian services to those fleeing the conflict in Sudan, foreshadowing a livelihood and health catastrophe threatening thousands of families fleeing the neighboring conflict zones.

More than 55,000 people have fled the ongoing conflict in Sudan to neighboring Chad since the beginning of this year, amid a significant acceleration in the pace of arrivals, which has multiplied by about 20 times compared to the previous rate.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) explained yesterday, Friday, September 25, that last week alone witnessed a sharp jump in the number of crossers, with the rate of arrivals exceeding 400 people per day across the border in the "Adré" and "Tine" areas of eastern Chad.

The Regional Coordinator of UNHCR stated that the numbers of those fleeing to the Chadian town of "Tine" have multiplied 20 times compared to previous months, as the reception center there hosts more than 4,300 refugees amid a severe shortage of basic services, and amid harrowing testimonies from women and girls who were subjected to serious violence during their refugee journey.

These developments come as an extension of the ongoing conflict in Sudan since April 2023 between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, which has resulted in the deaths of more than 200,000 people according to estimates by humanitarian workers.

UNHCR affirms that Sudan currently represents the largest population displacement crisis in the world, with about 11.3 million displaced persons, including 6.4 million internally displaced, noting that the humanitarian situation is at its most critical and dangerous in the Darfur states in western Sudan.