CHAD DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY AS ATTACKS CONTINUE IN DARFUR AND EASTERN CHAD

The spread of violence from the genocide in Darfur has created a disastrous humanitarian situation in Chad. With fresh violence and attacks on refugee camps in both Darfur and eastern Chad, Chadian officials are accusing Sudan of "exporting the Darfur conflict," while Sudanese officials claim that the government of Chad is supporting Darfur rebels.

On November 13 the government of Chad declared a state of emergency in at least 3 provinces of eastern Chad, where  approximately 300 civilians were killed in recent weeks. The eastern provinces of Ouaddai, Salamat, and Wadi Fira, as well as  the Chadian capital of N'djamena, have all been placed under a state of emergency, resulting in tighter media reporting on the conflict in Chad and a heightened sense of fear of attacks by the janjaweed militias.

Both Chad and neighboring Central African Republic have called for the deployment of international troops to secure its borders from cross-border raids and attacks. The United Nations reports that as many as 180 people have been killed in the last week in eastern Chad. In addition to the violence sparked by the Darfur crisis, reports from the region mention rising ethnic tensions in the south-eastern part of the country. The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louis Arbour, has called on the international community to stop an impending disaster and human rights crisis in Chad, citing 12,000 Chadians who have been forced to flee their homes since November 4. Arbour also expressed her hope that the state of emergency would be lifted soon. The janjaweed have attacked 23 villages in Chad since the start of November, and residents have abandoned 20 other villages due to fears of attack. A total of 75,000 Chadians have been forced to flee their homes in the past year.

The crisis in Darfur continues with daily attacks and village raids, resulting in brutal violence in Darfur and eastern Chad.  There are approximately 2.5 million internally displaced people in Darfur and neighboring Chad who flee their homes in fear of being burned alive, maimed, raped, or killed by armed janjaweed on horseback. Infants, children, women and elderly have been burned alive by the janjaweed. One harrowing report of an attack on a Darfur refugee camp revealed that the janjaweed forced dozens of children into a hut, burned the hut to the ground, and shot and killed any parents who tried to rescue their children. Darfurian refugees have fled to Chad in increasing numbers since the beginning of violence in 2003, and now no longer find themselves safe due to increased cross-border raids, attacks, and village burnings.

Northern Darfur has long experienced the worst of the violence, but now the West and South regions of Darfur appear to  be getting worse. The U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan, Andrew Natsios, referred recently to North Darfur as "on fire." On November 16, a Sudanese rebel group accused the government of Sudan of attacking its positions in northern Darfur and killing  approximately 50 people. West Darfur has also experienced attacks in recent weeks and has been referred to by U.N. humanitarian chief Jan Egeland as the "wild, wild west." There are 800,000 internally displaced persons in West Darfur and humanitarian organizations are only able to travel by air. On November 11 30 civilians were killed in an internally-displaced  persons camp in West Darfur, where janjaweed burned almost 100 houses. African Union (AU) patrols from the AU Mission  in Sudan (AMIS) force were attacked twice this week north of el-Geneina and forced to retreat from their monitoring posts.

On Egeland's recent trip to the region, the government of Sudan blocked Egeland's access to many internally displaced persons camps. The security situation in Darfur prevented Egeland from traveling outside of state capitals, and  Egeland has reported that the situation in Darfur is the worst it's ever been. He was unable to monitor the status of aid work and how the government of Sudan may be impeding the work of humanitarian aid organizations. Humanitarian organizations experience similar restrictions on movement and must remain in offices in Khartoum instead of out in the field delivering aid to war-torn Darfurians. Egeland acknowledged that protection of citizens in Darfur is at the lowest point since the beginning of the conflict in 2003.

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Updated November 17, 2006