More than 10,000 Chadians were refugees at the end of 1997, including 4,000 in Central African Republic, 4,000 in Sudan, 1,000 in Cameroon, 1,000 in Congo-Brazzaville, and about 1,000 in Niger. Tens of thousands of Chadians reportedly lived in refugee-like conditions in Cameroon. About 300 UNHCR-registered refugees, primarily from Sudan, were in Chad at the end of 1997, according to UNHCR. Although Chad has registered claims to refugee status, since 1993 it has forwarded such claims to UNHCR's regional office in Kinshasa, Congo/Zaire for evaluation. A series of armed insurrections in Chad dating back some 30 years has periodically forced tens of thousands of Chadians to flee their homes. In the 1980s and 1990s, the overthrow of the Hissein Habre regime and coup attempts against President Idris Deby fed inter-ethnic conflicts that caused refugee flight. A 1994 peace agreement brought a measure of political stability to Chad, creating conditions favorable for repatriation to some areas of the country. During 1995-96, more than 10,000 Chadians repatriated. Some areas of the country remained insecure, however. Continued tension and conflict caused small numbers of Chadians to flee the country in 1997, UNHCR reported. Violence in southern Chad's Moundou area in late 1997 reportedly killed about 100 people, including civilians. The fighting was apparently linked to disputes over the integration of rebel combatants into the Chadian military. Some 1,800 Chadian refugees repatriated with UNHCR assistance during 1997. UNHCR estimated that another 1,700 Chadians repatriated spontaneously during the year.
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