The war in Sudan has caused a new wave of violence in the western region of Darfur, sending tens of thousands of people fleeing to neighboring Chad. An estimated 60,000 Sudanese refugees have crossed into Chad since the beginning of the war in April, with 90 percent of them being children and women. The conflict has been fueled by the power vacuum in Darfur, with militias exploiting the situation to loot households and kill civilians. In response, some civilians have begun arming themselves and non-Arab groups have retaliated against militias.
The influx of refugees is increasing pressure on Chad, a landlocked, vast Central African country that is already home to more than 400,000 refugees from Darfur. Aid workers and Chadian officials now expect that a pause in the fighting in El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur, could push tens of thousands to flee to Chad.
The United Nations’ Refugee Agency is providing aid to the refugees, but the situation is dire. Most families have fled with little more than a few cooking supplies, sheets and mats, and many say they cannot return to Sudan due to the lack of security. With the rainy season looming, aid agencies are struggling to provide aid to the swelling number of refugees.