GENEVA / NAIROBI – The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has issued a critical warning regarding a massive escalation in the number of Sudanese civilians fleeing across the border into Chad. Over the past week, more than 400 people per day have crossed into eastern Chad, marking a twenty-fold surge compared to figures recorded in recent months.
The sharp influx is being driven by intensifying military clashes, aerial bombardments, and drone attacks across Sudan’s Darfur, Kordofan, and Blue Nile regions, where combat between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces continues unabated.
Displaced civilians are fleeing not only active combat zones but also severe famine-like conditions, prolonged drought, and collapsed local economies resulting from the three-year-old civil war, which has displaced up to 14 million people nationwide.
Humanitarian relief operations face an acute crisis due to a severe lack of international funding. UNHCR reported that it has received only 18 percent of the 1.6 billion US dollars required for its 2026 response plan.
Regional Refugee Coordinator Mamadou Dian Balde emphasized that this funding shortfall directly translates into drastic reductions in emergency food supplies, shelter capacity, and protection services for vulnerable refugees arriving in Chad.
The UN agency warned that the inability to meet basic survival needs in Chad is triggering secondary displacement, with increasing numbers of Sudanese refugees attempting perilous journeys toward Europe.
Without an immediate injection of international humanitarian aid and an end to hostilities, the crisis risks further destabilizing Chad and accelerating broader migration flows across the region.
