Following heavy fighting between Chadian government forces and rebels in N'Djamena, more than 2,000 refugees - over 80 per cent women and children - have fled to the Nigerian border town, Gamboru-Ngala, officials said Tuesday according to DPA. Sambo Gwandu, the Controller of Immigration in Maiduguri, the capital city of Borno State, a northern Nigerian state bordering Cameroon, confirmed the figure Tuesday. He said intelligent reports had shown that more than 6,000 more refugees were on their way from Kusiri, a Cameroonian town sharing an international boundary with Chad, and about 30 kilometers from Gamboru-Ngala. Most of the refugees said they trekked from N'Djamena to Kusiri, a distance of about 100 kilometers and later made it to Gamboru-Ngala, going for three days without food. Governor Ali Modu Sheriff of Borno State visited the area Tuesday and directed the local council government to provide food and shelter for the refugees. He also asked the Borno State Emergency Relief Agency to provide blankets, mattresses and other materials for the refugees, and that the refugees be accommodated at the newly-completed state housing estate at Gamboru-Ngala.
