The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has stepped up its activities in Chad after conflict intensified in recent months.

At least 100,000 Chadians have so far been forced from their homes. Hostilities began towards the end of 2005 with sporadic clashes between government troops and various Chadian armed opposition groups. Into this mix are age-old tensions between sedentary farmers and nomadic herders clashing over increasingly scarce water and pasture.

These overlapping layers of violence and conflict have led to the displacement over recent months of more than 100,000 civilians.

Pierre Krahenbuhl, ICRC director of operations

The already fragile situation has been further exacerbated by the neighbouring Darfur conflict with the arrival since 2004 of some 200,000 Sudanese refugees living in 12 camps on the eastern border of Chad.

The ICRC is one of the few agencies working along the border where it has helped around 15,000 residents and displaced people so far this year. The organisation expects to assist 40,000 people in total in 2007 with basic relief items, including food and seeds.

War-wounded

In addition, the ICRC's water programme has reached more than 100,000 people to date in eastern Chad. It also has two surgical teams who are treating many war-wounded patients, whether they are civilians or armed fighters.

Pierre Krahenbuhl, the ICRC's director of operations who has just returned from Chad, said: "These overlapping layers of violence and conflict have led to the displacement over recent months of more than 100,000 civilians across several regions of eastern Chad.

"As a matter of priority we've opted to work in delicate and isolated border regions where many of the other humanitarian actors are finding it difficult to gain access."

He added that the outlook is not promising: "We expect to have to increase our activities in the spring at harvest time, when tensions are likely to rise between displaced and resident populations."

The ICRC is also working to promote international humanitarian law in the region and has reunited more than 500 children with their families.

The organisation is doing tracing activities in all 12 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) supported camps for Sudanese refugees and for 40,000 refugees from the Central African Republic.