CHAD— The International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (ICRC), has responded to pleas to deploy a surgical team to Eastern Chad to deal with the rising number of wounded victims from the ongoing civil war in Sudan.

An influx of gunshot wound victims seeking safety and medical care after fleeing fighting in neighboring Sudan has necessitated the ICRC to deploy the team.

The team comprises a surgeon, an anaesthetist, a ward nurse, and an operating theatre nurse who are working out of the University Hospital Centre in Abéché.

The medical specialists are helping relieve pressure on medical facilities in Adré and Abéché that have struggled to cope with overwhelming needs.

A second surgical team and an ICRC physiotherapist will also soon arrive to help with the rapidly deteriorating situation.

Most healthcare facilities in Sudan have stopped operating due to a lack of electricity and running water, as well as dwindling medical and food supplies, forcing patients in need to seek care in a safer location.

“The Sudan crisis is spilling over borders, and the resources in neighboring countries are overstretched,” said Jerome Fontana, head of the ICRC delegation in N’Djamena.

Fontana noted that gunshot patients often require long and complex treatment, including orthopedic and reconstructive surgery and when they arrive in large numbers, in most cases accompanied by family members, the pressure on hospitals is immense.

ICRC commits to forging on

Nearly 160,000 people, including more than 1,000 who were wounded in the ongoing violence, have fled the Darfur region of Sudan into Chad.

Red Cross branches in Ouaddai, Sila, and Wadi Fira are supporting refugees, returnees, and host communities, including the building of shelters and water infrastructure in Ouaddai.

The ICRC has been working with the Chad Red Cross Society to support families who lost contact with their loved ones.

The ICRC has also been distributing essential household items and tents.

Since fighting broke out in Sudan on April 15, the ICRC and the Sudanese Red Crescent Society have been working to deliver surgical supplies to hospitals, help collect and identify mortal remains, and improve access to clean water.

In addition, the ICRC has maintained dialogue with all the parties to the conflict in Sudan to facilitate medical evacuations of wounded people and remind the parties of their obligations under the norms of international humanitarian law.

The Sudan civil war and how it can become a regional catastrophe

Analysts warn the unrest could pose a serious threat to the stability of Chad and the region.

The Institute for Security Studies notes that the stalemate is worrying for Sudan’s neighbors, particularly Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR), which have previously felt the devastating impact of deadly conflicts in the country.

Moreover, more than 500 people have been killed and over 4 000 injured in the bloodshed that broke out on 15 April between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) under General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti).

Both countries have also already started experiencing an influx of refugees and returnees. Chad has recorded between 10 000 and 20 000 refugees in Koufroune, 320 Sudanese soldiers fleeing hostilities, and more than 300 Chadian returnees.

Humanitarian agencies in all three countries need financial support to deal with new refugees, internally displaced persons, and returnees.

It is vital that the international community and the African Union’s African Humanitarian Agency are mobilized in all affected countries.

Unfortunately, according to UNHCR, only 17% of the funds needed to meet the most urgent needs of refugees in Chad have been received from donors.

The UN also notes that cessation of trade with El Geneina, the region’s economic powerhouse, is also likely to exacerbate the surge in prices of staple foods in an area, which is highly vulnerable to food insecurity.

The response to this crisis must also consider local communities and around 400,000 Sudanese refugees, who have been living in overcrowded and unsanitary camps for several years in eastern Chad.

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