Publication

The political and security situation in Chad is volatile. Ethnic clashes, banditry, and fighting between government forces and rebel groups, both Chadian and Sudanese, have contributed to a fragile security situation in the east. The instability has forced over 180,000 Chadians from their homes in the past three years. An additional 30,000 fled to neighboring Cameroon during a February 2008 rebel attack on the capital city. In addition to the internal displacement, over 300,000 refugees from the Central African Republic and Sudan's Darfur region have fled violence in their own countries and now live in refugee camps in eastern Chad. With Chadian security forces stretched thin, the threat of bandit attacks on the camps and on aid workers has escalated.