UNHCR News Stories

667,300 need shelter in Darfur, Sudan

Ethnic and political violence in Darfur, Sudan, have displaced over 1.8 million people within the country alone. An estimated 576 villages have been completely destroyed, and over 150 more severely damaged. Within Sudan, UNHCR and its partners have worked to meet the basic needs of the displaced, including delivering shelter to protect over 782,300 people. A further 575,000 within Sudan are in urgent need of protection from the hostile environment - scorching temperatures up to 55 degrees in the shadeless desert plunge to freezing at night; drought and sandstorms alternate with violent seasonal rains that flood temporary shelters.

In a makeshift camp in El Geneina, heavy rains cause flooding and increase the risk of such water borne diseases as cholera. (July 2004) © UNHCR / K.McKinsey

Over 200,000 Sudanese have fled over the western border into neighbouring Chad, one of the most impoverished countries on the planet. Fleeing violent attacks at home in Darfur, they choose the uncertainty of flight into the harsh desert towards refugee camps set up by UNHCR in eastern Chad. Bredjing camp, one of 12 camps set over the course of this emergency, was originally designed to accommodate 20,000 refugees at most. But after passing row after row of standard issue white UNHCR tents (turned brown by blowing sand), you come across the more makeshift homes made of plastic sheeting and acacia branches. Estimates have the camp population at more than double its maximum capacity - newly arrived refugees eke out an existence until UNHCR can move them to a new camp at Treguine and provide them with tents and other basic necessities.

Worse off are refugees at Am Nabak - a point in the desert in Chad near the border of Sudan where more than 10,000 refugees have set up makeshift shelters while waiting for assistance. Their shelters are cobbled together from branches and pieces of cloth. Crowded close together, they lack the infrastructure provided in camps by UNHCR and its partners.

Just over 500 international staff are working round the clock in Chad to set up and maintain viable camps - and Sudanese fleeing the violence in Darfur continue to arrive everyday. With a demand that far outstrips the availability of life saving assistance, they work through near impossible conditions.

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View a gallery of photos available from Chad and Darfur, Sudan.