Life is "starting to return to normal" in N'Djamena, Chad, after violence rocked the capital, virtually shutting down the city and creating major challenges for its residents.

In the early days of February, rebels entered the city and remained within the borders of N'Djamena for several days. A firefight ensued, in which there were unconfirmed reports of 1,000 people injured and 160 dead. On Monday, February 4th, the fighting came to a stop, yet the instability left behind severe damage to the city and to the people of N'Djamena.

CARE staff were put on high alert during the emergency and measures were put in place to best ensure the safety of CARE workers and beneficiaries. Many staff managed efforts throughout the crisis to maintain safety and security, which allowed CARE to continue operating the Orientation and Transit Centre for Child Soldiers in N'Djamena.

CARE also continued to operate essential services for its refugee camps, which serve 60,000 Sudanese refugees and 14,000 Chadians in the remote regions in Eastern Chad, as well as approximately 30,000 refugees, primarily from the Central African Republic, in the South.

Nicolas Palanque, country director for Chad, calls the situation a "fragile balance", and stresses that stability in N'Djamena is important for the rest of the country, since it is a hub for many other humanitarian activities throughout Chad.

Due to some light damage on the CARE office, a temporary location has been set up. Operations within N'Djamena will continue from this location. A limited number of CARE Chad national staff have been in contact with the Country Director and have returned to work at the new location. CARE will continue to serve the people of Chad from this new hub.