Refugee camps in eastern Chad are witnessing a wave of violence that resulted in the killing of a Sudanese refugee woman and a child in separate incidents.
The first incident occurred in Qaqa refugee camp, where Hawa Hussein Adam, a 27-year-old mother of five children, was killed by a stray bullet during an exchange of fire near her home.
The refugee who was inside her home in Block 25 died after being transferred to a health center in the camp, before the medical team arrived to examine her.
In another incident, a 5-year-old child died as a result of the explosion of a “Qarnit” device inside his family’s home in Jabal refugee camp.
The explosion also resulted in the injury of his brother Abdel Moneim, who was transferred to Goz Beida Hospital and then to Abesha Regional Hospital to receive medical care due to his critical condition.
Other reports mentioned the attack on refugee Othman Adam Ruby, a trader in Qaqa camp, where he was beaten and stabbed by unknown gunmen, and a large sum of money and goods were looted from his store.
These incidents come at a time when refugee camps in Chad face increasing security challenges, with the continued influx of refugees from Sudan, which is witnessing an ongoing conflict.
The representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Chad, Laura Lo Castro, explained that the war in Sudan has pushed more than 600,000 refugees to Chad since April last year, most of them women and children, and more than 115,000 people have arrived since the beginning of 2024.
In May 2024, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimated that there were 7 main refugee camps in Chad hosting more than 74,000 refugees from Sudan, and in June 2024 it announced the opening of a new camp in Chad to house Sudanese refugees.
News reports indicate that there are 12 refugee camps in Chad, while other reports indicate 10 camps.
More than 104 were killed as a result of an attack by the Rapid Support Forces on a village in Al-Jazira State