UN aid chief ends mission to Chad, heads to Central African Republic

(N'Djamena [Chad], Paoua [Central African Republic] and New York: 29 March 2007): United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes today completed the second leg of his three-country mission to Africa, meeting with Chadian Prime Minister Nouradine Deluce Kassiré Coumakoye in the capital, N'Djamena, as well as representatives of United Nations agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and donor countries.

The Emergency Relief Coordinator's discussions with the Prime Minister focussed on the humanitarian situation in eastern Chad, including the need for the Government to increase its efforts to protect the internally displaced and other vulnerable groups and priorities for a well-defined strategy to respond to the refugee crisis. Eastern Chad is currently home to some 230,000 refugees from Sudan, 48,000 refugees from Central African Republic, and 140,000 internally displaced persons in urgent need of increased aid.

"I am very worried about the humanitarian situation in Chad," stressed Mr. Holmes following his meeting with the Prime Minister, underscoring the need for the Government to work with the United Nations to increase security in the camps and their surroundings. Citing the example of carjackings, he noted the impunity prevailing for perpetrators of such crimes. Even though the humanitarian actors had not been directly targeted, this served to underscore the dangerous environment in which they worked.

Upon his arrival in N'Djamena yesterday, the Emergency Relief Coordinator stressed that Chad faces a triple crisis - not just of caring for the refugees from Sudan and Central African Republic and those Chadians who have been internally displaced, but also for the local communities who have been sharing their homes and resources with them.

Prime Minister Coumakoye thanked the United Nations for its support in the current humanitarian crisis and acknowledged the existence of security problems, stressing that the Government is making efforts to improve the situation. He urged the United Nations to continue to provide support for the internally displaced, and said the Chadian Government is reflecting on a strategy, in conjunction with humanitarian actors, to improve security in eastern Chad.

Following his meetings in N'Djamena, the Emergency Relief Coordinator embarked on the third leg of his mission, travelling to Paoua, in northern Central African Republic, where civil conflict between Government and rebel forces has prompted the displacement of some 284,000 people in the last six month. About 210,000 remain internally displaced within their own country, while the other 74,000 have sought refuge in neighbouring Chad, Cameroon, and Sudan's South Darfur state. According to latest reports, at least 200 villages have been burned to the ground and another 200 deserted throughout the country.

As his first stop upon arrival, Mr. Holmes visited the destroyed village of Polau, once home to some 360 individuals who fled their homes due to fighting between Government and rebel forces just three months ago. The attack that prompted the population's flight occurred on a Sunday, when the entire village was at church. Their homes were burned and two of the village residents -- the priest and the deacon -- were killed in the attack.

A resident of a second damaged village, Pendé, whose residents have yet to fully return since an attack on the same day drove them into the bush, told the Emergency Relief Coordinator, "We do not sleep well anymore. In the village, we are afraid, and in the bush we are afraid." In a scene reminiscent of many in the country's conflict-affected north, town residents often return during the day to reconstruct their damaged houses, but seek shelter in the surrounding bush at night.

While in the Central African Republic, Mr. Holmes is also expected to meet with local and national Government officials and representatives of the United Nations, non-governmental organizations and donor community working in the country.

For further information, please call: Dawn Blalock, OCHA-Sudan, +249 912 174 454 (mobile), +88 216 5119 1670 (Thuraya); Cheikh Touré, OCHA-Chad, +235 670 4313 (mobile), +88 216 2120 6871 (Thuraya); Stephanie Bunker, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 5126, +1 917 892 1679 (mobile); Kristen Knutson, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 9262; Elisabeth Byrs, OCHA-Geneva, +41 22 917 2653, +41 79 473 4570 (mobile). OCHA press releases are available at http://ochaonline.un.org or www.reliefweb.int.