EASTERN CHAD

(

29 Apr

.) -

Darfuris in the eastern Chad refugee camps are on the brink of starving after the food rations were reduced in December last year.andnbsp;Darfuri refugees in South Sudan’s Western Bahr El Ghazal state, are also living in poor humanitarian conditions.

“The Gaga, Farchana, Treguine, Bredjing, and Tuloum refugee camps are witnessing a rapid deterioration of the humanitarian situation owing to the reduction of food rations,” Haider Suleiman Gadiria, the head of the Tuloum camp reported to Radio Dabanga.

“The World Food Programme reduced the rations of sorghum and sugar for the refugees in eastern Chad camps by 50 percent since December last year. andnbsp;In April this year the distribution of salt and a mixture of soap was stopped.”

Grass

The head of the Farchana camp, Mohamed Dafallah told Radio Dabanga that the camp population has reached the brink of starvation. “They are now eating grass, and digging in ants’ hills in search of food.”

He noted that the reduced food rations are sufficient for one week. “The situation in the camps is nearing a humanitarian disaster.”

The camp head demanded from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Programme to “undo this policy, and provide adequate nutritional support for the refugees”.

South Sudan

The Darfuri refugees in the Kor El Madina camp in South Sudan’s Raga county, Western Bahr El Ghazal state, are surviving in extremely poor conditions,andnbsp;Ishag Hussein, the spokesman for the camp told Radio Dabanga.

“The World Food Programme (WFP) has suspended the provision of food in 2013. The camp also lacks medicines and educational services.”

“All the 1,860 refugees living at the camp, fled from South Darfur state in 2009,” he explained.

Hussein urged the WPF to resume the provision of food. He demanded from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to treat them as refugees, because they are no longer considered to be “internally displaced persons” after the secession of South Sudan in 2011.

File photo: Map indicating refugee camps in eastern Chad

Arabic Forum