The UN World Food Program (WFP) warned on Wednesday that rising tensions and armed attacks could worsen food outlook in Chad to 70,000 people who have fled the incursions in the east of the country.

In a statement issued in Nairobi, Kenya's capital, the UN agency said its food security assessment mission, which has just returned from eastern Chad, reported that the food stocks of some 50,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) were rapidly being depleted as they share their limited resources with around 20,000 people hosting them.

"We need to work fast now to avoid any sudden deterioration in these people's nutritional status," said Stefano Porretti, WFP Chad Country Director in a statement.

"We are aiming to launch seed protection activities in areas which can be cultivated so that Chadians remain self-sufficient for as long as possible. No general food distributions are planned at the moment, but we are keeping a close eye on how the situation evolves," Porretti said.

According to WFP, malnutrition rates visited by the assessment team are currently within acceptable norms (Global Acute Malnutrition of between 5.5 and 8 percent, with Severe Acute Malnutrition below two percent for children under five).

"Even under normal circumstances, WFP's operation in eastern Chad teeters on the brink," Porretti said. "We want to ensure that the world is aware of how dire the situation could become for those people both displaced Chadians and refugees from Darfur who depend on our assistance."

Despite last month's clashes around the country between government and rebel forces and the consequent relocation of non- essential UN and NGO staff , WFP said it remains operational in Chad and completed April food distributions in 12 camps in the east of the country, home to about 210,000 refugees from Sudan's Darfur, which borders the country.

"However, uncertain security threatens to make an already highly complex logistical operation even more difficult," it added.

WFP said the closure of the border between Chad and Sudan following the rebel assault on the capital in April could also have a serious impact on the agency operations in West Darfur, where the agency is currently feeding a total of 500,000 people.

Much of the food for the needy in West Darfur arrives from Libya via Chad, but the border closure has rendered this route unusable.

As the annual "hunger season" begins to bite, it is certain that many of the displaced Chadians, as well as the communities hosting them, would run out of food and require emergency assistance, said the statement.

Source: Xinhua