UP TO 12,000 refugees from Sudan’s Darfur region have fled across the border to neighbouring Chad after the latest air strikes by the Sudanese military and thousands more may be on their way, the UN refugee agency said yesterday.

The UN Security Council today condemned the rebel attack on Chad and gave a green light for France and other countries to help the government repel the force.

THE UN refugee agency is facing a race against time to help more than 100,000 impoverished Sudanese refugees who have spilled across the border into Chad to escape increasing violence in their homeland.