AID DARFUR
UN Refugee Agency in action
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is battling the elements, massive logistics obstacles and daunting security challenges to help hundreds of thousands of people uprooted by the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region.
An estimated 200,000 innocent people have been killed and 2.5 million forced from their homes since early 2003 when rebel forces took up arms against the Sudanese government.
UNHCR has been operating in Darfur since June 2004. Twelve UNHCR-run camps in Chad house some 240,000 refugees from Darfur, while some 8,000 have decided to remain closer to the border. In addition, an estimated 180,000 Chadians have been left internally displaced in the south-east by inter-communal strife which erupted in 2005 and reflared in 2006 and 2007.
In the eastern Chad camps, UNHCR programmes provide everything from family shelters to latrines, clinics, schools, wells and other vital infrastructure. But it is an enormous logistical challenge getting items such as tents, blankets, plastic sheeting and soap to the refugees in the landlocked country.
At least 12 humanitarian aid workers were killed in the last six months of 2006, along with several African Union peace-keepers in 2006 and 2007. Some non-governmental organizations decided to withdraw from Darfur because of the growing threat, which led to continuing displacement in 2007. Other organisations were simply forced to leave Darfur.
© 2008 by UNHCR, Strand Bridge House, 138-142 Strand, London WC2R 1HH
Registered Charity Number 268369 (UN Refugee Agency UK Fund)
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