An official from an agency concerned with refugee affairs in Chad told Reuters news agency today, Monday, that his country has begun an emergency transfer of refugees from an area adjacent to its border with Sudan, at a time when the army is preparing to deploy in the region in response to cross-border attacks.
Last week, Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby ordered the army to prepare to respond after a cross-border drone attack from Sudan killed 17 people in Chad, including mourners at a funeral.
A separate government statement issued last week said that Chad has strengthened its security presence on the border and could carry out operations on Sudanese territory.
The representative of the Chadian National Commission for the Reception and Reintegration of Refugees and Returnees in the border town of Tine said that the initial transfer operations of refugees will include about 2,300 people, more than half of whom are women and children.
He added that they began moving people to areas inside Chad away from the border since Saturday, and this is scheduled to be expanded today, Monday, to include all border towns that serve as temporary transit sites for refugees.
He said: We received instructions from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Humanitarian Action to move quickly because the army will secure the border in the coming days and is already deploying its forces there.
Chad closed its eastern border with Sudan last month after war-related clashes resulted in the deaths of five Chadian soldiers.
However, the official said that refugees are still arriving in his country due to the heavy fighting on the Sudanese side.
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