afrol News, 6 June - Reports from eastern Chad indicate that Janjaweed militia attacks against Chadians "have become more systematic and deadly over the past three months and there is no sign that this pattern will stop." The Janjaweed militia, which is accused of ethnic cleansing in Sudan's Darfur region, is now mainly "spreading instability and insecurity" in neighbouring Chad.

The UN's refugee agency UNHCR today voiced "extreme concern" at continuing attacks by the Sudanese Janjaweed militia into eastern Chad and the potential for more displacement of locals in an area where 50,000 people are already estimated to have been uprooted. The continuing insecurity also posed a threat to 213,000 Sudanese refugees from Darfur in a dozen UNHCR-administered camps in this remote region along the border with Sudan.

"We urge authorities in Chad and Sudan to reinforce security in border regions to prevent further attacks and displacement, and call for more international engagement in dealing with the very serious issue of spreading instability and insecurity," UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond told the press at a briefing in Geneva.

Just this Saturday, armed militiamen stole 350 head of cattle from a village in the Goz Beida region, according to the UN agency. "No casualties were reported, but this is just one recent example of escalating violence which is causing increasing displacement and sometimes death," Mr Redmond said.

The Janjaweed attacks against Chadians appear to have become more systematic and deadly over the past three months and there is no sign that this pattern will stop, the UN agency warned today, again expressing concern at the spill-over of violence from Darfur, where three years of fighting between the government, pro-government militias like the Janjaweed, and rebels have killed scores of thousands of people and uprooted 2 million more.

There are presently an estimated 50,000 displaced persons in eastern Chad who have fled their homes in recent months following dozens of attacks by the Janjaweed militia, according to UNHCR. "In some cases, people flee out of fear of impending attacks, and many have been displaced several times," the UN agency reports.

Mr Redmond cited several attacks by the Janjaweed - who have been accused of committing ethnic cleansing in Darfur - since March, in which large numbers of local inhabitants were reportedly killed, including the massacre of more than 100 people in one attack alone in April on the village of Djawara.

UNHCR teams have interviewed many displaced persons in spontaneous settlements. They say attacks are being perpetrated by Janjaweed militia entering the country from nearby Sudan. "They were wearing khaki military Sudanese clothing," claimed one man, referring to the assailants at Djawara.

The displaced also say that on several occasions they recognised "Chadians from other tribes" taking part in attacks together with the Sudanese Janjaweed militia, alleging that those Chadians had concluded agreements with the militia to avoid attacks on their own properties and livestock.

The arrival of additional displaced people in Chadian villages and towns often strains already limited resources, including water, the refugee agency warns. For example Goz Beida, with 6,000 local inhabitants, hosts 14,000 Sudanese refugees in Djabal camp and is now trying to cope with an additional 11,000 displaced Chadians. UNHCR said it had started relocating some of these people to other villages.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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