Last week I held a hearing in the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs to examine the regional impact of the Darfur crisis. The overwhelming message from our distinguished witnesses was that the victims and perpetrators of the Darfur conflict are no longer simply confined within Sudanese borders. so both our humanitarian response and our strategy for peace need to incorporate these new regional dimensions. Nearly a quarter of a million Darfur refugees have fled into eastern Chad. compounding an existing political and humanitarian crisis in that country. Lax security along Sudans porous border has also allowed weapons and Darfurbased rebel groups to spread violence into Chad. Both the Chadian and Sudanese Governments accuse each other of supporting rebel factions seeking to overthrow the neighboring state. Last Saturday. the Chadian Government claimed Sudanese aircraft had shelled four Chadian towns. Tronically. the UNHCR has now begun moving Chadian refugees into Darfur for their safety. Even before the recent outbreak of hostilities in the north. the Central African Republic was suffering extreme poverty and was deemed by the UN as "the worlds most silent crisis." Displacementmuch of it the result of houseburning and other cruel tactics by Government forcesrose fourfold in the past year. with more than 200.000 unable to return to their homes. Since the displacement has been more gradual than in Darfur or eastern Chad. the growing humanitarian crisis has received little attention and the response of aid agencies has been slow and limited.
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refugees