NDJAMENA , 15 February 2008 (IRIN) - Efforts by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in eastern Chad to move newly-arrived Sudanese refugees from West Darfur to camps away from the volatile border were blocked by an unknown armed group, according to an agency spokeswoman.

"This is deeply concerning and we are making every effort with the Chadian authorities to get these refugees moved quickly," UNHCR spokesperson Jennifer Pagonis said at a press briefing in Geneva on 15 February.

Pagonis said 70 percent of the 8,000 new arrivals are women and children. The refugees are scattered near the border, east of the town of Guereda. They are "exhausted" and "in very poor condition," she added.

"Women report being raped. Children have been separated from their families."

On 11 February Chadian Prime Minister Nouradine Delwa Kassiré Coumakoye said the government would refuse entry to any new Sudanese refugees.

"We cannot admit any more," the prime minister said.

He also called on the international community to move all 240,000 Sudanese refugees in eastern Chad to another country. "It is because of them that we have the problems we have today," he said referring to the current armed rebellion.

The UNHCR spokeswomen did not say whether the combatants who stopped aid workers from moving the new refugees were acting under orders of the government.

"They gave no reason for their actions but it was clear the relocation would not take place," Pagonis said.

She said the UNHCR representative in Chad was currently at the border, "trying to find a solution to this problem which is leaving the refugees extremely exposed and vulnerable."

"The area is highly insecure with roaming armed groups posing a real threat to the refugees and aid workers," Pagonis said.

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