Thousands of people are fleeing N'Djamena, the capital of Chad, after several days of fighting between rebel and government forces. Many of the displaced are moving into nearby Cameroon by crossing the Ngueli bridge over the Logone-Chari river, which separates the two countries.

The number of displaced people is growing steadily, from just 600 a few days ago to at least 30,000 over the past 24 hours. Most of them have found temporary shelter at a school in Kousseri, in the Logone-Chari district in Cameroon.

As soon as the crisis began, the Cameroon Red Cross Society mobilized more than 50 volunteers and staff to provide help and first aid to the displaced people around the clock. The Red Cross volunteers and staff are being supported by an emergency crisis committee set up by the local authorities in increasingly difficult conditions, due to the growing number of displaced people crossing the border.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is carefully monitoring the situation through its regional offices in Dakar and Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon. A joint evaluation team from the International Federation and Cameroon Red Cross is travelling to Kousseri to support the local Red Cross branch and evaluate the needs. It is also bringing essential supplies such as blankets, mosquito nets and water tanks.

"According to the Red Cross local branch, access to clean water is seen as particularly important at this stage," said Javier Medrano, head of the International Federation regional delegation in Yaounde.

"The only well in Kousseri stopped functioning two days ago so there is an urgent need to restore access to clean water to avoid serious health problems, especially for women and children," he added.

The International Federation will also shortly release funds from its disaster relief emergency fund (DREF) to support Cameroon Red Cross in its response to the crisis.

Fighting in Chad has also brought a smaller influx of refugees in nearby Nigeria. According to the Nigeria Red Cross, more than 80 people had already crossed the border into Nigeria on Sunday. Most of these are Nigerians who had been living in the Chadian capital.