By Meryl White
Impunity Watch Reporter, Western and Central Africa

ABECHE, Chad – European Union military forces are presently being deployed to Eastern Chad.  By the end of the month, almost 4,000 troops are expected to be on the ground. The troops are needed to protect civilians and refugees from violence and insecurity that has spilled over from the Darfur, Sudan region. These troops will provide security, aid, and promote stability in the region.

On Monday, Nouradine Delwa Kassire Koumakoye, Chad’s Prime Minister, stated that Chad could not absorb any more refugees from the Darfur region. In the last few days, more than 12,000 refugees from Darfur have crossed the border.

In response, the government of Sudan has claimed that Chad is using the refugees from Darfur as a “trading” and “bargaining chip” in the growing dispute between the two nations.

Mohamed Ahmed al-Aghbash, Sudan’s Commissioner of Refugees told state news agency SUNA, that the “Chadian announcement violates the laws and charters of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.”

Presently, the UNHCR and its partner groups “were taking care of 240,000 Sudanese refugees in 12 camps in eastern Chad and some 50,000 from Central African Republic in the south of the country.”

For more information, please see:

BBC- EU Force Resumes Chad Deployment – 12 February 2008

Africa Reuters -Sudan condemns Chad threat on Darfur refugees – 12 February 2008

CNN – New Wave of Darfur Refugees Flee Into Chad – 12 February 2008