Zaghawa. and Masalit ethnic groups. In the past 4 years. the genocide in Darfur has claimed more than 450.000 lives and has displaced well over 2 million civilians. While some of these have made their way to overcrowded refugee camps in neighboring Chad. most remain trapped within Sudan. These displaced persons are completely dependent on intemnational aid for their survival. the arrival and distribution of which has been impeded by the Sudanese Government. It has been nearly a year since the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1706. authorizing the deployment of 20.000 U.N. peacekeepers to bolster the 7.000strong African Union force already active in the area. It has now been over a year since I traveled to Chad and walked across the border to Sudan. I had the opportunity to meet with these African Union troops. who pleaded for expanded peacekeeping authority and the resources to protect the refugees from violence. In addition to the ongoing suffering of civilians within Sudan. the violence has now spilled across the borders into both Chad and the Central African Republic. and is undermining any prospects for stability in the entire region. Relations between Chad and Sudan have rapidly deteriorated. and. in addition to the flood of refugees moving across the border. the two nations have become locked in a proxy war. Chadian rebel groups. based in Darfur and supported by the Sudanese Government. have been launching crossborder attacks on civilians in Chad since late 2005. Similarly. fighting between rebels and government troops has displaced over 70.000 people in the northeastemn region of the Central Atfrican Republic.
Keywords matched
refugee refugees