Tense calm over Guereda as rebel soldiers withdraw; IMC medical teams treating wounded
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December 2, 2006 -- A tense calm settled over Guereda Saturday, as rebel solders withdrew from the eastern Chad market town less than 24 hours after capturing it from government forces in heavy fighting, International Medical Corps staff members reported.
IMC sources said rebel troops departed about 7:30am local time Saturday, taking most of their wounded with them. A large number of Chadian military forces were spotted headed towards Guereda and although local residents and representatives from international relief organizations based in the town prepared for another attack, as darkness came Saturday, there had been no reports of new fighting in the area.
IMC medical teams, who run the town's only medical facility, continued to treat about 80 persons wounded in Friday's battle. IMC sources said an undetermined number of rebel and government soldiers had died during the fighting, describing the death toll as "countless". They said 11 people had succumbed of wounds after being delivered to the hospital.
IMC teams began treating casualties Friday after rebel troops took control of town following hours of fighting. In the wake of the fighting, rebel emissaries approached the compounds of relief groups under a white flag claiming they intended no harm to foreigners. They ordered members of all international relief groups to remain in their compounds and patrolled the streets in search of any government soldiers who may have stayed behind.
IMC staff members at the hospital reported Friday they were running short of anesthesia and that a second medical team had also been requested. An air relocation of all non-essential international organization staff in the town, initially planned for Saturday, was rescheduled for Sunday.
In addition to IMC, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), CARE, and Christian Children's Fund and a Chadian non-government group, Secadev, are located in Guereda. Aside from helping local residents, the humanitarian aid groups based in Guereda supply assistance to a large population of refugees in the area who have fled war in neighboring Darfur.
Guereda is located just 25 miles west of the frontier with Darfur and the Chadian government has accused Khartoum of supporting the rebels. Last month, Chadian rebels briefly captured another eastern town, Abeche. The unrest has added to the broader instability in the region that includes Darfur, where as many as 3 million people have been affected by a 3-year-old conflict between Sudanese government forces and anti-government rebels.
In Chad, IMC offers primary health care and nutrition services for 58,000 refugees from Darfur, (approximately 20% of the total refugee population) in three campsĀKounoungo, Mille and Am NabakĀas well as for thousands of Chadians in the surrounding host communities. IMC also operates a series of primary health clinics in West and South Darfur, providing medical care to a population of about one quarter of a million persons.
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