BELGIUM:The EU's proposed 3,700-strong peacekeeping mission to Chad should begin deployment in February following a pledge by France to provide additional troops and equipment.
EU diplomats will meet Irish general Pat Nash in Brussels today to finalise the make-up of the force, which has been delayed for two months due to a lack of resources.
"The president of the republic has authorised the defence ministry to put additional means on the table" for the force, charged with protecting refugees from Sudan's strife-torn Darfur region, a French government spokesman, Laurent Teissere, said yesterday.
He said France had made the offer of resources to "help end a deadlock in discussions" with its European partners over the Chad deployment, initially planned in November.
France had pledged at least 1,350 troops to the EU force, which is expected to grow to about 3,700 soldiers, but requests for extra personnel, transport aircraft and a variety of helicopters had not been filled by EU member states, according to military sources.
It is understood that Paris has now agreed to provide additional logistical support units, as well as helicopters and transport aircraft. It is hoped that Italy will today confirm that it will provide a field hospital for the mission, which will also include 400 Irish troops.
Other countries that have agreed to provide troops or equipment include Sweden, Poland, Belgium, Greece, the Netherlands and Romania. The delay to the deployment has raised concerns about the EU's ability to act in the field of foreign and military affairs.
EU diplomats said the new resources should enable the force to deploy in early February. The peacekeeping mission in Chad will aim to protect refugee camps housing more than 400,000 Chadian and Sudanese refugees fleeing attacks by rebels in both states.