UN and Chadian sources reported 18,000 new refugees have fled western Sudan (Darfur region) and entered Chad. One of the reports said that the refugees claimed troops (ie, Sudanese troops) had attacked their villages and burned their houses. The refugees also reported the troops dynamited water wells. Dynamiting the wells indicates a tactic designed to create a refugee crisis. Again, these are reports coming from refugees and filtering through NGO sources. The UN and Chad now say they have a more solid figure on the total number of refugees in Chad. The current figure is 110,000 refugees. The fighting in Darfur comes at the same time the Sudanese government and the SPLA have agreed to continue peace talks and extend the current ceasefire in southern Sudan until February 17.