UNHCR: Sudanese Refugee Arrivals in Chad Surge 20-Fold as Funding Covers Only a Fifth of Regional Appeal

The UN refugee agency said on September 25, 2026 that more than 55,000 Sudanese refugees have crossed into eastern Chad so far this year, with daily arrivals at the Adre and Tine border crossings now exceeding 400 people a day — around 20 times the rate seen over the previous few months. Mamadou Dian Balde, UN Regional Refugee Coordinator for the Sudan Situation, briefing reporters in Geneva, said continued fighting and worsening insecurity in Darfur, the Kordofans and other parts of Sudan were forcing more families to flee across the border, with almost 1 million refugees having crossed into Chad since the war began in April 2023. More than 4,300 people are now sheltering at the Tine transit centre and roughly 31,000 families lack adequate shelter, while UNHCR said it had received only about 18-20% of the $1.6 billion required this year for the regional refugee response, leaving a shortfall of roughly $1.28 billion. UNHCR said Sudan remains the world's largest displacement crisis and cautioned that most refugees in eastern Chad's border areas are now surviving on less than half the minimum daily water requirement.