Chad troubles

REBELLION THREATENS AID OPERATION

An escalating insurgency and refugee influxes from conflicts in neighbouring countries have turned Chad into a humanitarian hotspot, with aid agencies struggling to help around half a million people.

300,000 refugees from Sudan and Central African Republic
Armed attacks displace 180,000 Chadians
Aid agencies face logistic and security nightmare

President Idriss Deby has health problems and is holding on to government by a thread, under regular attack from rebels with a range of regional ties who want to oust him.

A rebel assault on the capital in Febuary 2008 sent thousands of people fleeing for safety in neighbouring Cameroon, adding to tens of thousands of Chadians already displaced by violence near the border with Sudan.

On top of this, massive numbers of refugees from Sudan's Darfur region and Central African Republic lead a harsh existence in camps in eastern and southern Chad. The presence of refugees has put added pressure on scarce water and food resources in the semi-desert east.

Armed Sudanese and Chadian groups roam freely across the border, targeting aid agencies as well as villagers. The insecurity makes it hard for agencies to operate in the area, and violence has escalated since the collapse of a short-lived October 2007 peace deal between the government and four rebel groups.

Some experts say Chad's conflict is part of a competition for regional dominance in which Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Libya, Rwanda and Uganda are all vying for influence.

KEY FACTS

Refugees in Chad 50,000 refugees from Central African Republic, mostly in south
240,000 Sudanese refugees, most in eastern border camps (Source: U.N. OCHA, 2008)
Internally displaced in Chad 180,000 (Source: U.N. OCHA, 2008)
Average life expectancy 50.4 (Source: U.N. Development Programme, 2007/2008)
Children dying before the age of five 208 per 1,000 live births (UNICEF, 2007)
Doctors 4 per 100,000 people (Source: U.N. Development Programme, 2007/2008)
Children under five underweight for their age 37 percent (UNICEF, 2007)
Population with access to improved sanitation 9 percent (UNICEF and WHO, 2006)
Adult literacy rate 25.7 percent (Source: UNDP, 2006)