Exhausted Sudanese Flee Into Chad As Fighting Escalates
Nearly 20,000 people – mainly traumatised women and children – have reached Chad in the past two weeks, according to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.
' Most arrived in Chad with nothing – no food, money or identification,' said Magatte Guisse, UNHCR Representative in Chad. 'Several wounded individuals, including children and elderly women, reportedly fell from vehicles during the chaotic escape.'
Chad is one of the poorest countries in the world and already hosts 1.3 million refugees.
This includes nearly 800,000 people from Sudan since war broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in April 2023, after a breakdown in transition to civilian rule.
Heavy fighting in Sudan has devastated much of the country, likely killed tens of thousands and displaced almost nine million people, UN agencies say.
No food, no money
In Chad, the Tine border crossing in Wadi Fira Province has seen the sharpest spike in new arrivals, with more than 6,000 people in just two days,
Sudanese refugees are exposed to robbery and extortion at checkpoints – and many have also witnessed men being killed, women and girls sexually abused, and homes burned to the ground.
The refugee agency reported that armed groups have extorted, robbed or sexually assaulted around 76 per cent of the newly arrived refugees.
A nation of 19 million people where resources are already strained, Chad is overstretched and needs 'increased solidarity and immediate funding, to ensure these vulnerable populations receive the protection and assistance they need, now'.
Renewed attacks on Port Sudan
In a related development, a third day of drone strikes hit the international airport and a power station in Port Sudan, the UN's humanitarian hub for coordinating aid operations across Sudan.
The city is the current seat of government and until this weekend had been largely spared from the violence that is ongoing in Khartoum, Darfur and elsewhere. Thousands of people fleeing the war have also sought shelter in Port Sudan.
' Port Sudan airport is a lifeline for humanitarian operations, serving as the primary entry point for aid personnel, medical supplies and other lifesaving relief that is coming into Sudan,' said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN aid coordination office, OCHA. The airport is 'immensely important', he told journalists in Geneva.
According to reports, the Red Sea city suffered a complete power outage after drone strikes hit a large power station on Tuesday. Other strikes reportedly hit an army base in the city centre, a fuel depot and a hotel close to the airport, which is located near the presidential palace.
These attacks have increased the 'already severe' lack of aid access and delivery challenges facing humanitarian teams across the country, explained Mr. Laerke, adding that such violence is prohibited under international humanitarian law.
Compounding civilian suffering
In a statement released later in the day the UN's Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, said that t he attacks "will deepen humanitarian suffering and needs, as well as exacerbate the already severe access and logistical challenges that humanitarian actors face in the delivery of urgently needed aid to the rest of the country."
It is widely believed that the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces are responsible for the attacks. No UN facilities or operations have been impacted but UN Humanitarian Air Service flights in and out of the city have been paused.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scoop
21 hours ago
- Scoop
UN Expert Urges Saudi Arabia To Halt Imminent Execution Of 26 Egyptian Nationals For Drug-Related Offences
Geneva,10 June 2025 The Government of Saudi Arabia must immediately halt the reportedly imminent execution of 26 Egyptian nationals sentenced to death for drug-related offences, in violation of international law, an UN expert said today. 'The Government's claim that applying the death penalty for offences such as smuggling, receiving and distributing narcotic substances under the Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Act complies with international law is incompatible with its legal obligations under International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,' said Morris Tidball-Binz, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. 'The right not to be arbitrarily deprived of life is a fundamental tenet of international law, from which no derogation is permitted,' Tidball-Binz said. The 26 Egyptian nationals, currently held on death row in Tabouk prison, have reportedly been informed that their executions will take place shortly after the Eid al-Adha holidays. This follows the execution of two other Egyptians from the same group, carried out on 24 and 25 May respectively, without prior notification to their families. UN experts previously raised these cases with the Government of Saudi Arabia in a formal communication, to which the Government responded. 'The death penalty for drug-related offences fails to meet the threshold of the 'most serious crimes, and lacks conclusive evidence of serving as an effective deterrent,' the expert said. According to court documents reviewed by the expert, some of the Egyptian prisoners were denied legal representation, while others were convicted based on self-incriminating statements which they later retracted in court, claiming that they were made under coercion. 'The right to effective legal representation must be ensured at all stages of criminal proceedings – during interrogations, preliminary hearings, trial, and appeal – and constitutes an effective safeguard against torture and other forms of ill-treatment,' the expert said. 'Violations of fair trial guarantees leading to the imposition of the death penalty render such sentences arbitrary and unlawful,' he added. Since the beginning of 2025, Saudi Arabia has reportedly executed 141 individuals, approximately 68 of whom were foreign nationals. The vast majority were reportedly executed for non-lethal drug offences, in clear violation of international law. Imposing death sentences and carrying out executions for such offences significantly increases the number of people worldwide subjected to punishments fundamentally incompatible with human rights norms, and amounting to arbitrary deprivation of life. 'I urgently call on the Government of Saudi Arabia to halt the planned executions of the 26 Egyptian nationals, to abolish the death penalty for drug-related offences, and to ensure that its drug control policies fully comply with its international human rights obligations, notably the right to life,' the expert said.
Kiwiblog
a day ago
- Kiwiblog
Not a coincidence
Yesterday: The UN nuclear watchdog's board of governors on Thursday (local time) formally found that Iran isn't complying with its nuclear obligations for the first time in 20 years, a move that could lead to further tensions and set in motion an effort to restore United Nations sanctions on Tehran later this year. Today: The facility at the heart of Iran's nuclear ambitions was engulfed in flames on Friday, according to social media images geolocated by CNN and Iranian state television. That seems a lot more effective than sanctions! Multiple Iranian state media outlets have confirmed that Major General Hossein Salami, the head of the country's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was killed Friday morning during Israeli strikes. The IRGC is one of the most powerful tools wielded by the Iranian state, overseeing its ballistic missile development, crushing dissent at home and projecting Iranian and military operations in the Middle East region. That's a bonus. The dissent crusher got crushed.
RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
New Zealand's warning about drugs in the Pacific
Photo: Customs NZ As the threat of organised crime looms large over the Pacific, New Zealand is being warned that the region serves as both a cautionary tale and a direct source of risk. This is according to a report delivered to associate police minister Casey Costello by the Ministerial Advisory Group on Transnational, Serious and Organised Crime, a group she set up in February 2025. "The discovery of multi-tonne methamphetamine shipments in Fiji and the arrest of high-ranking officials in Tonga underscore the scale of the problem," the report stated. "These developments are not isolated; they are part of a broader pattern of transnational criminal infiltration that increasingly implicates New Zealand, both as a destination and as a contributor through deportations and economic ties." According to the United Nations the Pacific has traditionally been used as a corridor for drug shipments between two production and consumption hotspots - southeast Asia and Central America. Drugs are smuggled and transitted across the Pacific Ocean in massive quantities via planes, yachts and ships. Over 500 Kg of cocaine seized in French Polynesia Photo: OFAST But thanks to the involvement of police and customs officials in the islands, much of that product never reaches its destination. According to the Ministerial Advisory Group Report, it instead ends up on island streets - where the ease and prevalence of this drug supply has incensed an addiction-fuelled demand, which in turn fuels a greater supply, and so on. "While there are variations between different Pacific nations, many share common forms of corruption, including bribery, nepotism, cronyism, and political corruption. "Drug cartels from the Americas, organised crime groups from New Zealand and Australia, as well as Asian criminal networks are all increasing their involvement in the Pacific. Fiji, in particular, has emerged as a key transit point for major drug shipments." In January 2024, authorities in Fiji seized almost five tonnes of methamphetamine in raids on two houses in Nadi, where upon a police officer tried to scoop up crystals from the scene. Less than a month later, in Tonga, a senior Reserve Bank official was arrested after police seized 15 kilograms of meth at their home and office. More recently, in January 2025, Samoan authorities intercepted 10 kilograms of meth , which the Samoan Observer described as "the largest known drug smuggling operation" on the island. Minister Costello said that the government's response to the recommendations will be made in due course. "While we maintain high standards and enjoy low corruption, we can't be naïve or complacent in this space." Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone As far as New Zealand is concerned, the report said the country's obligation to assist the region goes beyond a moral one. "(There is) a very practical reason to do so, as the Pacific is a front door for the physical trade in illegal goods to New Zealand." Associate Police Minister Casey Costello told RNZ it was important New Zealand supported its economic growth and viability. "When people are poor then the amount of money you need to corrupt someone is relatively low." Costello said that the solution lies in "leaning in more" on current support measures. For her, that means strengthening customs services and excise duty collection from legitimate trade, and continuing existing support measures. Currently, that consists of the provision of drug-sniffing dogs and handlers, training Pacific personnel in Aotearoa, and intelligence capacity with staff members deployed in the islands. Police Commissioner Richard Chambers told RNZ Pacific in May that island police leaders had asked for more help from New Zealand, and that they were prepared to continue current levels of assistance. Photo: Customs NZ Minister Costello said she has been advised that the police will increase funding for staff deployment overseas, as well as support to the Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police. "The revised amounts for the 2025/26 financial year will be reported as part of the 2025/26 supplementary estimates document." University of Canterbury Associate Professor Jose Sousa-Santos said that the government isn't doing enough to engage with the Pacific on these issues. "It's very much looking at the issues in the Pacific from a New Zealand-centric lens." The quick test for illicit drugs using the "First Defender" tool Photo: RNZ/Carla Penman Pacific island nations want to be respected and trusted when they engage with the international community, and to build that means to build capacity for vetting government officials, Sousa-Santos said Right now, the world views developing nations in the Pacific with suspicion, he said. "Currently, due to the lack of vetting security, intelligence cannot be shared and joint operations are minimal. That does not only take away the mana from Pacific neighbors, but it also compromises regional security." With the United States ramping up deportations , Pacific islanders in the country are getting swept up, which the report acknowledged. "American deportations are set to make the problem significantly worse," it said. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Photo: Immigration and Customs Enforcement "Recent initiatives focused on deportations are set to create a Pacific tsunami, with somewhere around 1,000 deportations set to occur, with 500 arriving in Fiji alone. "The inflows of high-level criminality within small populations will always create problems, but these are exacerbated in the Pacific by cultural norms." While exact numbers are not available yet, TVNZ reported in February that some 350 migrants from Fiji, 150 from Tonga and 57 people from Samoa, among others, have been earmarked for deportation. It was enough to draw Fiji's Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, to the US House of Representatives to raise concerns about the safety risk it poses to his country. Sean O'Niell, a senior State Department official for East Asian and Pacific affairs, told RNZ that the nations these deportees are destined for should not expect any help from the United States. "With respect to aliens who are returning to their country of origin, as a general matter that's the responsibility of that country," he said. "The United States does continue to provide foreign assistance... much of that assistance might be geared towards addressing specific needs of an entire population, but I'm not aware of anything that's addressed to that now." The report acknowledged that Pacific nations are nervous about whether they will be able to handle that influx, coupled with existing criminal deportations from Australia and New Zealand. Beyond a lack of ability to handle the population increase, Jose Sousa-Santos said that the return of criminals means the strengthening of criminal networks into the region. "We are sending some who have been incarcerated for serious crimes. We've been able to create links to outlaw motorcycle gangs and drug importing syndicates who have been able to deal with the darker side of their community. "When they get deported, they don't have the same support systems in place. They find it hard to reintegrate back into into the society and communities in their own countries."
