Families fleeing N. Darfur tribal clashes arrive at Chad camp

About 40 families fleeing the week-long tribal clashes between Abbala and Beni Hussein members in North Darfur arrived at the Touloum refugee camp in eastern Chad on Monday, 14 January, a source told Radio Dabanga. The families from al-Sref Beni Hussein, North Darfur, traveled for nine days by foot and by donkey before reaching the camp, the refugee Soukara Adam Hashim recounted. She left five of her children, aged between three and 14 years old, behind.  Hashim told Radio Dabanga that, with the exception of two elderly men, all of the families arriving at the camp consist of only women and children. Several other people fleeing the clashes in North Darfur did not manage to reach the refugee camp. They were last seen by Hashim and the others about 60 kilometers away from the border between Chad and Sudan, without food or water. The 40 families come from the villages of Umm Kolol, Medecis, Umm Baua, and from the surroundings of Jebel ‘Amer. They all expressed their gratefulness for the warm welcome they received from the other refugees already living in camp Touloum. Exhausted Touloum’s chief, Haider Suleiman Gardia, said the newly-arrived refugees were exhausted by the time they reachd the camp. He told Radio Dabanga these people had not eaten or drunk for several days as they ran out of supplies during their journey.  The sheikh stated that different aid organizations visited the 40 families and he urged them to accelerate their provision of food, water, medicine and shelter.Radio Dabanga file photo Related: 1st plane carrying aid to N. Darfur leaves El-Fasher: governor (15 January 2013)