Under the framework of the European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO)-funded project “Humanitarian Assistance to Displaced Population from Neighboring Countries in Chad,” Dominique Van Zuylen of ECHO Chad, accompanied by Francisco Furlani, the IOM Chad Emergency Operation Officer 2013, visited from 21 to 24 October several sites in the Lake Region that are experiencing an influx of Chadian migrants fleeing the armed conflict between the Nigerian Army and members of the Boko Haram in the two Nigerian regions bordering Chad.

The objective of the ECHO field mission to the border area was to assess the situation of the returning Chadian migrants fleeing the conflict in Nigeria and visit other ECHO-funded projects in the area.

Visited locations included N’Gouboua, Kayga, Bagasoula and N’Gouri where the ECHO-IOM team met with returnees, traditional leaders and local authorities, and visited the recently established IOM emergency base and the health centre in N’Gouboua, the migrant arrival site in Kayga, the hospital in Bagasoula and the NGO (ALIMA) implemented projects and base in N’Gouri.

Accessibility to migrant arrival sites at the border is extremely difficult. The ECHO-IOM team had to utilize locally made canoes and motorbikes and alternative routes to cross different lakes and islands as the traditional routes are flooded from rains. This has prevented the team from visiting two additional migrant arrival sites of Dedebel and Litri, and has also hampered the onward transportation of the returning migrants who wish to rejoin members of their communities from the arrival sites. However, according to traditional leaders and local guides, the accessibility problem in the area is expected to improve by the months of November and December.

IOM maintains a field base and an emergency team in N’Gouboua for monitoring and providing emergency assistance to fleeing Chadian migrants from Nigeria since May 2013 and has so far registered 3,127 returnees.

For more information, contact:

Dr. Qasim Sufi
Chief of Mission, IOM Chad
Office: +235 22 52 53 59/60 (Ext. 111)
Mobile: +235 62 90 06 74
Fax: +235 22 52 53 61
Email: qsufi@iom.int

or

Francisco Furlani
Emergency Operations Officer, IOM Chad
Tel: +235 22 52 53 59/60
Fax: +235 22 52 53 61
Email: ffurlani@iom.int