IOM and the Chadian Red Crescent are rushing relief assistance to
Faya Largeau, a remote northern town in Chad, where up to 300
Chadian migrants have arrived from Libya in the past two days.

The 300 are part of a group of 1,000 Chadian migrants who the
Libyan authorities have returned to Chad for being in the country
without proper documents.

According to their accounts taken when they arrived in the town,
some were in detention centres and others decided to return home as
a result of the latest tribal clashes in southern Libya.

They said that they were brought from different towns in Libya
to the town of Gatroun in southern Libya, from where they started
their journey. 

They further told IOM that two of their colleagues died of
unknown causes during the long and arduous journey to the Chadian
border. At least one truck carrying approximately 60 migrants broke
down in the desert between Zouarke, a town on the border with
Libya, and Faya Largeau, 600 km south-east of Zouarke.

An ambulance has been sent by the Chadian authorities to the
site of the breakdown to rescue the sick and the vulnerable. The
crew will also repair the broken truck.

The majority of migrants said they were from Abeche and Goz
Beida in eastern Chad. The rest are from Mao in the west and from
the capital, N’Djamena.

On Tuesday, 3rd July, 2012, the Chadian authorities asked IOM
for urgent assistance to meet the basic needs of the arriving
Chadian migrants, including the provision of food, non-food items,
and medical care including psychosocial support, as well as
secondary transportation from Faya Largeau to other final
destinations in the country.

Assistance to the arriving migrants in Faya Largeau is currently
being provided by the Chadian Red Cross. IOM donated humanitarian
aid including food, non-food relief items and medical supplies.

IOM has already set up 40 tents in the old IOM Transit Centre at
Faya Largeau for the temporary accommodation of arriving migrants
and for the provision of humanitarian assistance, registration and
preparations for transport to final destinations in the
country.

Another four IOM staff, including two medical and two operation
staff are on their way from N’djamena to Faya Largeau,
carrying extra supplies of food and non-food relief.

“The death of the two migrants shows how life-threatening
these journeys across the desert are. We are relieved that we
managed to get supplies to the area quickly, perhaps saving a few
more lives that otherwise would have been lost,”  says
IOM Chief of Mission in Chad Qasim Sufi.

For more information, please contact

Qasim Sufi

IOM Chad

Tel: + 23562900674

Email: "mailto:qsufi@iom.int">qsufi@iom.int