More than 100,000 flee to Chad from Sudan conflict, UNHCR says

Reuters
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Fleeing Sudanese seek refuge in Chad

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - More than 100,000 people have fled violence in Sudan to neighbouring Chad and the numbers could double in the next three months, the U.N. refugee agency said on Thursday.

The near seven-week conflict has pushed Sudan into a humanitarian crisis and turned one of Africa's greatest cities - the three-part capital of Khartoum, Omdurman and Bahri on the confluence on the Blue and White Niles - into a war zone.

"As the rainy season is coming within the next few weeks, we require massive logistics to move refugees from border areas... We need to establish immediately new camps and extension of existing camps," UNHCR Chad representative Laura Lo Castro said.

One of the poorest countries in the world, Chad was already hosting close to 600,000 refugees before conflict broke out in Sudan in April.

UNHCR said it needs $214.1 million to provide vital services to displaced people in the country, which is currently 16% funded.

(Writing by Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Andrew Heavens)