It is feared that the approaching rainy season will cut off the roads and make it difficult for the refugees to be cared for.
The war in Sudan is leading to a worsening refugee crisis. There are already more than three hundred thousand internal refugees in the country.
People also flee from the chaos of Sudan to neighboring countries. Most have come to Chad, whose border has already been crossed by 20,000 Sudanese. Many of them live in the open, with little food and water.
Those who came from the Darfur region of Sudan say that the villages they inhabited have been destroyed in the clashes. Many fear that they will no longer be able to return to their homeland.
The arrival of refugees is testing the resources of aid organizations. The head of the UN World Food Program in Chad interviewed by the British broadcasting company BBC Pierre Honnorat warns of impending change:
– Now it is urgent to get help delivered before the rainy season. In a few weeks, the roads become very impassable.
Honnorat says that no one knows how many people are still coming across the border. Help will be needed even more.
According to the UN Refugee Agency, more than 100,000 people have already fled the internal turmoil in Sudan that has lasted for more than two weeks.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees: up to 800,000 may flee
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi estimates that up to 800,000 people may leave the country.
The Sudanese refugees interviewed by the news agency AFP in the port city of Port Sudan say that the capital Khartoum looks deserted. Many have fled, and those who remain do not dare to leave their homes because of the fighting.
The parties to the conflict in Sudan have reportedly agreed to a week-long ceasefire starting Wednesday. The matter was announced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Sudan, which has offered to mediate the dispute.
Previous attempts to end hostilities have failed in clashes in Khartoum.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland Pekka Haavisto (green) said earlier, that the expansion of the crisis may cause a refugee crisis, which will be reflected in neighboring countries and possibly also in the Mediterranean region.
Sources: Reuters, AFP