Tens of thousands of people fleeing violence in Sudan are spilling into Chad, with aid agencies warning that larger flows of refugees are expected to arrive.
The United Nations have revealed that since fierce fighting broke out in Sudan on April 15, an estimated 20,000 people have entered Chad and at least 100,000 are set to arrive, raising concerns about the stability of a fragile region.
In addition to the number of deaths and injuries caused by the violence, the World Health Organization predicts that many more may die in Sudan as a result of outbreaks, a lack of food and water, and disruptions in key health services such as immunisation.
The Director-General of the World Health Organization Tedros Ghebreyesus stated this while speaking in Geneva.
Meanwhile Thousands of civilians, mostly women and children from Sudan’s western Darfur region, are streaming into Chad’s eastern provinces amid a growing refugee crisis.
UN agencies, along with local partners have started distributing food and basic items, but as thousands more refugees are expected to make their way into Chad it is not clear if there will be enough support.
Similarly, dozens of Britons have been evacuated from Sudan with the British authorities establishing an air bridge between Khartoum and Cyprus, where there is a British military base.
British Home Secretary Suella Braverman said that Britain had evacuated between 200 and 300 of its citizens from Sudan, adding that an intensive process is running to help the Brits who are stranded there.
France has also evacuated more people from Sudan, with the French foreign ministry adding that those evacuated included not only French nationals but also Britons, Americans, Canadians, Ethiopians, Dutch, Italians and Swedes.
