November 20, 2006
Thousands Displaced After Fresh Violence Hits Villages in Southeastern Chad

The hospital of Goz Beida has filled up with people wounded by recent attacks on their villages. Photo © Kadir van Lohuizen

A new wave of violence has hit civilians in remote eastern Chad not far from its increasingly tense border with Sudan's Darfur region. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams in the regional town of Goz Beida are seeing several thousands of displaced people arriving from villages further south. Thousands have also sought refuge at Habile, a displaced-persons camp near Koukou, 45 km (28 miles) southeast of Goz Beida, that already hosts 3,500 Chadians who fled from the Chad/Sudan border region earlier this year.

According to the displaced people, dozens of villages to the south and southeast of Goz Beida have been attacked, looted and/or burnt down during the past two weeks. At least 200 people are reported to have been killed during the attacks. Up to a hundred wounded arrived in Goz Beida. They are treated in the local hospital, which received emergency medical supplies from MSF.

"Some of the villages along the road were almost entirely burnt down." – MSF Head of Mission Martin Braaksma

More than 1,000 displaced people have gathered in Kerfi, a village about 40 km (25 miles) south of the regional town of Goz Beida, and are staying there without any assistance. MSF provided first aid on arrival in Kerfi and will start a mobile clinic in the area, provided that the poor security situation does not further deteriorate.

"During a five-hour road trip from Kerfi to Koukou and back to the base in Goz Beida, the team drove through several villages which were completely empty," says MSF Head of Mission Martin Braaksma. "Some of the villages along the road were almost entirely burnt down."

Based on what the people in the area say, it is feared that more people have died, that many wounded remain in the affected villages without any care, and that people are still hiding in their villages for fear of being attacked. Some people who returned to the remains of their homes were allegedly killed.

The attacks took place relatively deep inside Chad, about 80 km (50 miles) from the border with Sudan. MSF is assessing more locations in the area and aims to treat and/or evacuate wounded that are presumed to be trapped and to assist the remaining population with emergency medical care and relief items.

© 2013 Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)