UN: Aid agencies suspend work in eastern Chad

Six non-governmental aid agencies have suspended operations in eastern Chad after the kidnapping of a Red Cross worker and a surge in attacks on relief agencies there, the United Nations said on Friday.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) said 37 000 people would be deprived of relief aid as a result of the temporary withdrawal.

“In two weeks one humanitarian worker has been killed and one kidnapped,” said Ocha spokesperson Elisabeth Byrs.

“Six humanitarian organisation have had to temporarily suspend their operations in eastern Chad,” she told journalists.

A source close to the international peacekeeping force in the region said Friday that those behind the abduction of the international Red Cross worker, a French citizen, on Monday have demanded a million euros to free him.

Another aid worker, a Chadian working for the agency Solidarites, was also killed in the area close to Sudan recently, said Byrs.

The UN recorded 190 “banditry” incidents affecting aid workers in eastern Chad so far this year, including carjackings and attacks in compunds, compared to 110 in 2008.

Byrs said the UN assistance mission in eastern Chad lacked resources to carry out its work.

“The capacity of Minurcat [the UN Mission in Chad and the Central African Republic] as well as the government’s capacity to protect humanitarian and civilian workers need to be increased,” she added.

The International Committee of the Red Cross has called for the “rapid and unconditional release of its kidnapped staff member” and said Tuesday that it had temporarily suspended its activities in eastern Chad.—AFP