The top UN humanitarian official wrapped up a four-day visit to Chad on Nov. 24 during which he called for stronger action to restore stability and rein in criminal activity besetting nearly half a million refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the strife-torn east. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes traveled to the east, where 300,000 refugees from Sudan's war-torn Darfur region and the Central African Republic (CAR) have been joined by some 180,000 IDPs uprooted by rebel activity and a spill-over of the Darfur conflict. (UN News Service)