“For a few weeks now, more than 40,000 people have been fleeing their
villages for fear of attacks, without any belongings,” said the UN
Humanitarian Coordinator for Chad, Thomas Gurtner.
“The Lake Chad islands still face sporadic attacks and the Government is
considering relocating some additional 20,000 people to the mainland,
therefore increasing vulnerability among displaced population and host
communities,” he added.
On 3 August, an estimated 10,000 people fled to the locality of
Koulkimé, some 20 kilometres from the town of Baga Sola, in the Lake
Chad basin, bringing the total of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in
the region to around 40,000, according to the latest update by the UN
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Overall, some 79,000 civilians have been forced to flee their homes
since the beginning of the year, including refugees, returnees and IDPs.
The UN system is working with partners to implement immediate
life-saving assistance to this new displaced population, as the area is
prone to cholera outbreaks, Mr. Gurtner said.
The volatile security situation and the rainy season are limiting
physical access, slowing humanitarian assessments and response. Despite
these challenges, three spontaneous IDP sites near Baga Sola have been
provided with basic supplies, food and wash kits.
According to OCHA, the humanitarian community is concerned with the
growing trend of forced displacement of civilians in the region.
“As elsewhere in the Lake Chad Basin, which straddles four countries,
and where people have been affected by violence, the humanitarian
community calls on authorities to ensure that any measures taken to
counter terrorism comply with the Member States obligations under
international law, particularly international human rights law,
international refugee law, and international humanitarian law,” it
stated.
No comments:
Post a Comment