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Section
The ICRC in Chad
© ICRC
Displaced people in Eastern Chad, who fled insecurity due to armed clashes in the border region with Sudan, receive bags of seeds just before the rainy season.
The ICRC has been operating in Chad since 1978. Its activities focus on protecting and assisting internally displaced people and their hosts and people detained or otherwise affected by the conflict; restoring family links for Sudanese refugees; and ensuring treatment for war wounded and amputees.

Since January 2006, priorities have been to meet needs arising from the growing internal conflict in Chad and, since early 2005, the conflict in the neighbouring Darfur region of Sudan.

In the outbreak of violence that struck the capital, N'Djamena, in February 2008, the ICRC provided support to the Red Cross of Chad in evacuating the wounded and had surgical teams operating at local hospitals.

Eastern Chad, which saw intense clashes at the end of November 2007, remains volatile. The ICRC has sub-delegations in Abeché and Goz Beida, and offices elsewhere in the region.

Countrywide, the ICRC pursues long-standing programmes to promote international humanitarian law among the authorities, armed forces and civil society and supports the Red Cross of Chad.

Presence (2009): 315, including 57 expatriates

Key document
    12-11-2009
    Sudan/Chad: ICRC presses for release of abducted staff members
    Two ICRC staff members were abducted in the past weeks: Gauthier Lefèvre was abducted in West Darfur, Sudan, on 22 October, and Laurent Maurice was abducted in eastern Chad on 9 November. The ICRC's head of operations for East Africa, Daniel Duvillard, speaks about how the organization is dealing with these crises.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Chad)
    Interview

    12-6-2009
    Chad: chronic insecurity and localized violence in the east of the country
    More than two years after tens of thousands of people were displaced by violent clashes in eastern Chad, humanitarian problems persist as a result of chronic insecurity and localized violence, particularly in the border areas. The ICRC continues to assist the displaced, the war-wounded and detainees, as well as the most vulnerable members of the local population. ICRC activities from January to April 2009.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Chad)
    Operational update

    27-5-2009
    Eastern Chad: bringing war surgeons closer to the wounded
    More than two years after an explosion of violence shook eastern Chad, some 160,000 people are still unable to return to their homes. Proliferating firearms in the area and the ongoing risk of clashes between the Chadian army and armed opposition groups have created a pervasive atmosphere of potential and actual violence. The ICRC surgical team based in Abéché treats the most serious cases, most of them civilians. Following a three-month assignment there, Dr Ali Touati describes the situation (interview conducted before the clashes of early May).
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Chad)
    Interview Includes Photo

Feature
    21-4-2008
    Chad: saving animals, saving a way of life
    Stock breeding is so important in eastern Chad and the rest of the country that herding animals and growing crops are widely considered the twin pillars of the nation's economy. The recent fighting has driven many livestock owners to take refuge with their herds in areas of the country lacking the veterinary services sometimes essential to their animals' survival. The ICRC has therefore begun training veterinary care-givers. Veterinary delegate Ursula Kayali takes up the story.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Chad)
    Feature

    15-4-2008
    Chad: restoring lost dignity
    In a society where it is difficult for people with a handicap to find their place, orthopaedic care helps the victims of mines, accidents and road accidents to restart their lives.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Chad)
    Feature Includes Photo

    22-2-2008
    Eastern Chad: vital help for new refugees from Darfur
    Over 10,000 people, some of them wounded, have been forced to flee from their villages and head for neighbouring Chad after recent bouts of fighting around the Sudanese towns of Seleia, Abu Suruj and Sirba. Report by Inah Kaloga on the ICRC’s action to assist them.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Chad)
    Feature

    18-2-2008
    Chad: Waiting for news from N’Djamena
    As the inhabitants of N’Djamena, the capital of Chad, go about rebuilding their lives, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Red Cross of Chad are striving to respond to the emotional needs of families split up by violence.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Chad)
    Feature Includes Photo

Field newsletter
    1-5-2007
    Dépliant sur les activités du CICR au Tchad – 2006
    This leaflet describes the ICRC's activities in Chad in 2006, including visits to detainees and work to promote international humanitarian law and restore family links among Sudanese refugees. (Available only in French)
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Chad)
    Field newsletter Includes PDF

Interview
    4-7-2008
    Chad: ICRC helps people affected by conflict
    The ICRC is continuing its efforts to bring assistance and protection to those affected by the armed conflict in Chad. Following the temporary withdrawal of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the ICRC's Deputy Head of Operations for the Horn of Africa, Simon Ashmore, clarifies the ICRC's position in Chad.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Chad)
    Interview Includes Photo

    8-4-2008
    Chad: adapting assistance to specific needs of the displaced in the east
    Following the failed offensive on the Chadian capital, N'Djamena in early February, increasingly frequent confrontations between armed opposition groups and the army continue in Chad, along with regular, localized inter-community violence in the East. Upon return from a visit to Chad, the ICRC's deputy director of operations, Dominik Stillhart, describes the current humanitarian situation and in particular ICRC's specific approach to assistance in Eastern Chad.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Chad)
    Interview Includes Photo

    29-2-2008
    Chad: the ICRC's independence in humanitarian action explained
    The head of the ICRC delegation in Chad, Thomas Merkelbach, outlines the basic position of the ICRC and its dialogue with all bodies, civilian and military, including the European military force being deployed.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Chad)
    Interview

Operational update
    10-10-2008
    Chad: more than 180,000 displaced contend with lack of security in east of country
    Despite difficult security conditions, ICRC staff are pressing ahead with their activities aiming at addressing the needs of the people worst affected by armed conflict and other situations of violence in eastern Chad. The lack of security remains the primary factor impeding displaced people from returning to their homes, and the main challenge for the delivery of humanitarian aid. ICRC activities from July to September 2008
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Chad)
    Operational update

    14-8-2008
    Chad : first assistance operations in the areas where displaced persons are returning
    The instability which has been prevailing for years in eastern Chad has continued to mar the chances of persons displaced in this region to return home as well as the security of the humanitarian organizations assisting and protecting them. Yet despite this environment the ICRC has continued its work to help displaced persons.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Chad)
    Operational update

    8-4-2008
    Chad: ICRC activities from January to March 2008
    With the cooling of fighting in eastern Chad, the displaced are cautiously returning to their homes. The ICRC is continuing its activities to assist vulnerable populations in a climate of deep insecurity, primarily due to increasing crime and banditry.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Chad)
    Operational update Includes Photo

Photo Collection
    13-8-2009
    Chad: ICRC assists displaced and other vulnerable people affected by insecurity and violence in the east of the country
    In 2006 and 2007, several outbursts of violence caused the displacement of tens of thousands of people in eastern Chad. The populations are today still having to cope with the consequences of chronic insecurity and violence in local areas, particularly in the areas on the border with Sudan. Whereas humanitarian and development organizations operating in the region are few and far between, the ICRC is continuing its operations there to assist displaced people, the war-wounded and prisoners as well as the most vulnerable members of the local populations.
    (Info resources\Photos\Africa)
    Photo Collection Includes Photo

    8-5-2008
    Chad in crisis
    In Chad, sporadic clashes between armed opposition groups and the army continue following the failed offensive on the capital, N'djamena in early February. As bad as this may be, intercommunity clashes in the east have most impact on cilvilians - particularly in the region of Dar Sila and parts of northern Assoungha. No security forces are present to stop the fighting and banditry and lawlessness regularly limit the scale of humanitarian efforts.
    (Info resources\Photos\Africa)
    Photo Collection Includes Photo

Press article
    12-9-2008
    Chad at the crossroads
    Chad lies wedged between Libya to the north and Sudan to the east, in an area where North Africa meets sub-Saharan Africa. The country has had a turbulent past and is today struggling to overcome not only the problems caused by its harsh climate, but also the economic and political challenges that every now and then ignite tensions. Article published in the Red Cross Red Crescent Magazine, No 2, 2008
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Chad)
    Press article Includes Photo



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21-11-2009