DAKAR (Reuters) - European foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday must increase diplomatic pressure for a ceasefire in Chad to prevent a major humanitarian crisis, British charity Oxfam said.
Some 500,000 people, including refugees from Sudan'swestern Darfur region and Chadians displaced by war and ethnicviolence, are sheltering in camps in eastern Chad, but a surgein fighting has hampered aid and delayed the deployment of EUpeacekeepers.
Many aid organisations evacuated foreign workers after arebel assault on the Chadian capital N'Djamena two weeks agoand are operating on a skeleton staff. Oxfam said supply routesto the camps had been closed and fuel supplies for vital waterplants were down to two weeks.
"We have all the elements for a huge humanitarian crisisrapidly developing in Chad," said Nick Roseveare, Oxfam'sdirector for West Africa. "Europe must act rapidly beforethings get worse."
"Europe needs to call for a ceasefire in Chad to protectbeleaguered civilians and increase diplomatic efforts to securepeace," he said in a statement before the Brussels meeting.
Oxfam said the camps in eastern Chad were unable to copewith a fresh wave of thousands of Darfur refugees, fleeingfresh violence.
Chadian President Idriss Deby's government, which accusesSudan of supporting the Chadian rebels, has threatened to expelthe refugees, saying their presence is destabilising theregion.
Deby declared a state of emergency on Thursday, grantinghis government exceptional powers to censor the media, searchpeople and property, and tightly regulate all movement aroundthe landlocked, central African state.
European peacekeepers resumed their deployment last week,which was briefly suspended following the February 2-3 battlefor N'Djamena, but the rebels have said France's strong supportfor Deby has made EUFOR a military target.
French troops make up the majority of the 3,700-strongforce.
(Reporting by Daniel Flynn, editing by Mary Gabriel)