from RAJI BASHIR in Khartoum, Sudan
Sudan Bureau
KHARTOUM, (CAJ News) – A CONFLICT over resources is looming in Chad between locals and refugees uprooted from Sudan since the escalation of war in 2023.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has issued the alert amid the escalating situation in Sudan, Chad’s eastern neighbour.
UNICEF reports that since the beginning of the conflict in Sudan in April 2023, and as of July 6 this year, the Chadian government, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) have registered 870 270 refugees and 306 865 Chadian returnees.
Some 61 percent of the refugees and 67 percent of the returnees are children under 18.
This includes 91 617 refugees who have arrived in Chad since mid-April 2025, following the attacks on the internally displaced persons camps of Zamzam and Abou Shouk in Sudan.
Most of these refugees are arriving in the provinces of Wadi Fira and Ennedi East.
A spokesperson of UNICEF said the large influx of refugees had put pressure on natural resources and basic services.
“The risk of conflict between refugees and the host community remains high,” the official noted.
Sudan is one of the most severe humanitarian crises in the world.
– CAJ News