Any continuation or escalation of the current conflict in Chad could leave up to 700, 000 thousands of people short of food in both eastern Chad and across the border in the strife-torn Sudanese region of Darfur, the World Food Program (WFP) warned Friday.

"Our operation in eastern Chad is on a knife-edge even at the best of times," WFP Chad Country Director Stefano Porretti said, quoted by a WFP statement issued in the United Nations.

"We have warned for some time that any deterioration in the situation could have dire consequences for those we are assisting and now some of our worst fears might be realized."

Despite the recent clashes around Chad between government and rebel forces and the consequent relocation of non-essential UN and non-governmental organization (NGO) staff, WFP remains operational and is completing April food distributions in camps in the east of the country, home to about 210,000 refugees from Darfur, western Sudan, the UN agency said.

But the months of April and May are absolutely critical to the success of the operation as WFP battles to pre-position enough food for six months in each of the 12 refugee camps before the annual rains make road transport impossible.

If truck convoys through Libya and Cameroon remain free to move, WFP is on target to get the food in place, but if insecurity forces delays, there will be serious consequences for deliveries, the agency warned. Shortages during the rainy season can only be made up by expensive air-drops, something WFP is keen to avoid.

The closure of the border between Chad and Sudan after the recent rebel assault on the Chadian capital of N'Djamena could also seriously affect WFP operations in West Darfur, where it is currently feeding 500,000 Sudanese displaced by the fighting between the government, pro-government militia and rebels, WFP said.

Source: Xinhua