Aid agencies raise alarm as solo children cross Chad border to flee Sudan fighting

Sudanese refugee who have fled the violence in Sudan's Darfur region, at a makeshift camp near Koufroun, a small border village in Chad. An aid official said child labour or sexual exploitation were big risks for unaccompanied children. Photograph: Zohra Bensemra/Reuters

Hundreds of unaccompanied children have crossed the border from Sudan into Chad in recent weeks as fighting separates families and forces minors to make the arduous journey to safety without their parents.

Humanitarian workers say “more and more” children are arriving alone in the neighbouring country, to which more than 100,000 refugees, about 60% of them under-18s, have fled since fighting erupted between rival military factions in mid-April.