A student has told newsmen of her relief at being airlifted from Sudan.
“The Chadian embassy helped us and now we are on a plane. I am very happy to come back to my beloved country, Chad,” says Ikhbar.
She says dozens of other Chadians are on board the flight, and although she is leaving her university studies behind in Khartoum, she’s grateful to have found safety.
“It feels very different, thank God.”
More than 220 people have so far been repatriated to Chad, says French-language broadcaster RFI, and the Chadian government is urging others still in Sudan to report to its consulate and register themselves for a return flight.
Chad neighbours the Darfur region in western Sudan, which has seen some of the worst violence since the fighting began.
A UN official told the BBC Newsday programme that as many as 250,000 Sudanese could end up seeking refuge in Chad, despite the country’s own security problems and its already struggling humanitarian response to Sudan’s crisis.
