Sudan refugees to Chad top 55,000 this year, UN says

More than 55,000 Sudanese refugees have crossed into eastern Chad since the start of the year, the United Nations said Friday, warning that arrivals are accelerating while aid funding remains far below needs.

Mamadou Dian Balde, the UN's regional refugee coordinator for the Sudan situation and head of UNHCR's eastern and southern Africa operations, said more than 400 people a day were now crossing border areas at Adre and Tine in eastern Chad. He said that was around 20 times the daily rate seen over the previous few months.

UN figures show about 11.3 million people remain forcibly displaced by Sudan's war, including 6.4 million inside the country and 3.5 million who have fled across borders as refugees. UNHCR said nearly one million Sudanese refugees have crossed into Chad.

Balde said the situation was especially dire in Darfur, Kordofan and Blue Nile states, where fighting, including airstrikes and drone attacks, was forcing more families to flee and complicating humanitarian access.

UNHCR said it had received only 18 percent of the $1.6 billion required this year for regional refugee needs linked to the Sudan crisis. In Chad, Balde said more than 190,000 refugees remained in difficult conditions in border areas, and most refugees were surviving on less than half the minimum daily amount of water needed.