NDJAMENA, 24 April (IRIN) - Hunger and militia attacks in the remote border areas of eastern Chad have driven more than 11,000 Chadians to seek international assistance and stretched resources meant for Sudanese refugees, according to aid agencies.

According to the UN an estimated 50,000 Chadians are displaced in eastern Chad, but until a recent wave of attacks on the government of President Idriss Deby by rebel forces nearly all the internally displaced people (IDP) had managed on assistance from friends and family.