VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHNJ #0789/01 1561517
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 051517Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY NDJAMENA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3871
INFO RUEHYD/AMEMBASSY YAOUNDE 1213
RUEHDK/AMEMBASSY DAKAR 1080
RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 1162
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1821
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1429
RUEHAR/AMEMBASSY ACCRA 0379
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0727
RUCNDT/USUN NEW YORK

UNCLAS NDJAMENA 000789 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR PRM, AF, LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ASEC PHUM CASC PGOV
SUBJECT: CHAD: CONTINUED INDICATIONS OF INSECURITY IN 
 
REFUGEE CAMPS 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY: PRM DAS Fitzgerald visited Sudanese 
refugee camps in Eastern Chad June 1-2.  Recruitment appears 
to be taking place in Oure Cassoni and Mile camps, and armed 
elements are in extremely close proximity to the Oure 
Cassoni camp.  Humanitarian workers continue to face the 
threat of vehicle theft, and there is little confidence that 
Chadian gendarme protection will be able to deter further 
attacks against humanitarian organizations.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) On June 1 and June 2, PRM DAS William Fitzgerald 
visited the Oure Cassoni camps in Bahai and the Mile camp in 
Guereda to meet with the United Nations High Commissioner 
for Refugees (UNHCR) and partner organizations, local 
authorities, and refugees.  DAS Fitzgerald was accompanied 
by UNHCR's external affairs officer and Embassy's E/C 
officer.  Discussions focused on insecurity in the refugee 
camps and current humanitarian operations. 
 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
OURE CASSONI: RECRUITMENT, PRESENCE OF ARMED SUDANESE 
ELEMENTS 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶3.  (SBU) In the Oure Cassoni camp in Bahai, humanitarian 
workers told Fitzgerald on June 1 that while they have not 
witnessed recruitment first-hand, they have received 
accounts from refugees who asserted that their children were 
forcefully recruited to join JEM and SLA elements. 
Humanitarian workers noted the presence of armed Sudanese 
elements within the camp on May 31 who claimed that they 
were visiting relatives and receiving medical treatment. 
They pointed out that gendarmes did little to impede their 
movement within the camps.  Humanitarian workers also told 
Fitzgerald that, according to Sudanese refugees, a group of 
approximately 500 Sudanese rebels were camping a few 
kilometers from the Oure Cassoni camp, across the Carrieri 
Lake in Sudan.  According to the humanitarian agencies, the 
presence of armed elements close to the refugee camp was a 
troubling sign, as the camp would be affected by any violent 
interaction between the armed elements and any opposing 
forces. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) During a meeting with the Prefect of Bahai, 
Fitzgerald raised the concern among international partners 
of the recruitment of refugees and presence of armed 
elements within the refugee camps.  The Prefect assured him 
that GOC authorities were opposed to any level of 
recruitment, and would take all appropriate measures to 
discourage recruitment.  The Prefect added that he spoke 
directly with refugee leaders, who stated that recruitment 
was not taking place in the camps.  He also stated that he 
spoke directly to members of the armed Sudanese elements 
across the border near the Carrieri Lake, who told the 
Prefect that they would not engage in forced recruitment, 
and in no way harm humanitarian workers or refugees while in 
the refugee camps. 
 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
GUEREDA: INSECURITY FOR HUMANITARIAN WORKERS 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶5.  (SBU) On June 2, UNHCR officers in Guereda reported on 
specific cases of recruitment in the Mile camp with 
Fitzgerald.  In one case, humanitarian workers met a mother 
who complained that her son had been beaten and forcefully 
taken away by men who claimed to be members of the Sudanese 
rebel movement one week ago.  However, as in the Oure 
Cassoni camp, they could not confirm these reports.  During 
a meeting with the Prefect of Guereda on the same day, the 
Prefect noted his concern to Fitzgerald of reports of 
recruitment, and stated that he would work with humanitarian 
workers to ensure that recruitment would not take place in 
the refugee camps. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Humanitarian workers reported further cases of 
vehicle thefts in Guereda.  Prior to Fitzgerald's visit, 
armed, unidentified individuals in military fatigues stole a 
vehicle from the Chadian National Refugee Committee (CNAR) 
in Guereda, and one gendarme was killed in the firefight 
 
that ensued between the perpetrators and GOC officials. 
UNHCR noted that Guereda and Iriba were becoming areas 
notorious for vehicle thefts, and of the 27 vehicles that 
had been stolen since October, a large number came from that 
area.  They pointed out that as long as vehicle theft 
continued to be a problem, their operational capacity would 
be significantly hampered. 
 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
LACK OF GENDARME CAPACITY, AND DIFFERENCES WITH GOC 
AUTHORITIES 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Humanitarian organizations in both Guereda and 
Iriba noted that gendarmes and local authorities were being 
cooperative and assisting the organizations with maintaining 
security in and around the camps.  Local authorities kept 
direct communication links to UNHCR through radios and 
satellite phones, and were readily available for any 
specific security requests from the organization and its 
partners.  However, humanitarian organizations maintained 
that the gendarmes still lacked the numbers and resources to 
effectively provide protection to the camps (currently, 23 
gendarmes are posted in Bahai and 35 are posted for the 
camps in Guereda).  The prefects of Bahai and Guereda, as 
well as their respective gendarme commanders, admitted that 
the gendarme units lacked the manpower and equipment to be 
fully effective. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Humanitarian organizations stated that while local 
officials were supportive in assisting security efforts on 
the ground, Chadian authorities in N'Djamena did not appear 
as cooperative.  UNHCR officials noted the fact that 
gendarmes that were supposed to be provided for camp 
security to reinforce the existing numbers had yet to be 
provided.  At the same time, organizations told Fitzgerald 
in a town hall meeting on June 2 in Abeche that GOC custom 
officials were not permitting specific communication 
equipment, such as radios and satellite phones, to pass 
through customs at the N'Djamena airport.  Without these 
means of communication to contact others in the event of an 
emergency, they noted, they would be unable to ensure safety 
for humanitarian workers.  The Prefect of Abeche, who was 
also present in the meeting, stated that he had spoken with 
GOC authorities, and they would try to ensure that future 
shipments of communications equipments would reach the 
humanitarian organizations in a prompt manner. 
 
- - - - 
COMMENT 
- - - - 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Infiltration of armed elements into refugee camps, 
as well as a Sudanese rebel presence just outside the Oure 
Cassoni camp, makes the area highly insecure for the 
refugees as well as the humanitarian workers.  While Chadian 
authorities have stated their commitment to preventing 
recruitment and ensuring the personal safety of humanitarian 
workers, they appear to lack the means to fulfill their 
objectives, and receive little support from authorities in 
N'Djamena.