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Africa Horn
EU Agrees to Plug Gaps for Chad Mission
2008-01-14
A European Union peacekeeping force looks likely to begin deploying in Chad later this month after shortages in helicopters and medical equipment were finally plugged at a meeting in Brussels on Friday.

The European Union has been struggling for months to assemble enough equipment to launch a peacekeeping mission in Chad. Finally on Friday, the deployment got the green light after military experts from member states met in Brussels and agreed to plug the shortfalls. The force now looks likely to deploy by the end of the month.

The mission had been scheduled to go into eastern Chad in October but was held up by key shortages of helicopters and medical equipment. At Friday's meeting France finally agreed to provide most of the required aircraft, while Italy confirmed it would take care of medical needs.
They couldn't do this in October because ...
The 4,000 EU troops are being sent to protect around 400,000 refugees, most from the Sudanese region of Darfur, who have fled the violence there. They and many Chadians are now facing attacks by rebels in both states.

France is providing the bulk of the troops, a total of 3,600, and they are expected to be on the ground by Jan. 29. The force will be under the command of Irish Lieutenant-General Patrick Nash, and Ireland is providing 400 troops, including a 50-strong unit of the elite Irish Army Rangers. A total of 14 countries, including the Netherlands and Poland are sending soldiers. "It is the most multinational deployment we have launched in Africa," one EU diplomat told Reuters.
And going to work about as well ...
The EU commanders struggled to persuade member states to provide expensive helicopters, essential in Chad's harsh terrain. Irish Defense Minister Willie O'Dea confirmed on Friday that the mission got the go-ahead after France agreed to increase its contribution. "While the process has taken longer than anticipated, it has reached a successful conclusion in the end." He told reporters he had agreed with Nash not to commit the force until all the equipment necessary to make the mission as safe as possible was available.

Speaking in Dublin on Friday, O'Dea said that there had been concerns in Ireland about bands of guerrillas taking "pot shots" at UN peacekeeping forces.
Concerns? How about 'certainties'?
"The danger is they identify the UN force with the French with whom they have issues," he was quoted as saying on the Irish Times Web site. "One of our jobs when we go out there is initially we've got to make it absolutely clear that we are part of the UN mission, we're there to keep the peace ... not part of backing up any ex-colonial power."
Posted by:anonymous5089

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