Chad has taken in over 1.2 million refugees from neighboring Sudan since 2023. The African country is struggling with a war between the country’s military leader and his former second-in-command and rival.
Since the bloody war broke out in 2023, four million people have already fled Sudan. According to UN refugee agency UNHCR, the country is experiencing the largest refugee crisis of the moment.
The flow of refugees is taking a heavy toll on neighboring Chad, where there is hardly any economic activity and the population lives in poverty. UNHCR says that there is hardly any water, food and shelter available for the Sudanese refugees. There are also an estimated eight million displaced people in Sudan.
In April 2023, a power struggle broke out between the armed forces led by military leader General Abdel Fattah Al Burhan and his rival General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the commander of the RSF. This paramilitary group dominates almost the entire Darfur region and parts of the south. The army dominates the center, north and east of the country.
One of the few places that the army controls in the southwest is the besieged city of Al Fashir. There have been several long-term ceasefires agreed upon for the city, which has been surrounded for a year. Al Fashir has an attraction for displaced people due to relative peace.
Aid convoy of World Food Program attacked
UNICEF reported on Tuesday that an aid convoy of the World Food Program destined for Al Fashir was attacked 75 kilometers northeast of that city.
The UN reports that five people have died and several people have been injured. “Trucks were set on fire and crucial humanitarian supplies were damaged,” involved UN organizations report.
The convoy was awaiting an agreement to enter Al Fashir. The army and the RSF blame each other for the attack. In recent weeks, there have been several attacks on aid convoys and locations of the World Food Program, Reuters reports.