Irish troops will be deployed to Chad and the Central African Republic with an EU peacekeeping mission early next month after additional helicopters and medical resources were pledged by member states. Conor Lallyreports.
An advance party made up of the Army's Ranger wing will travel to Chad early next month to carry out reconnaissance, ahead of a full deployment in early March of 400 Irish troops.
The peacekeeping force, comprising a total of 3,750 European troops, was expected to be on the ground from last November.
However, those plans were delayed after the force commander, Ireland's Lieut Gen Pat Nash, said the troops' safety was being compromised by the lack of helicopters and medical back-up.
Agreement on the extra resources was announced yesterday following a meeting in Brussels of the force generation conference.
France, the lead nation in the mission deploying 1,350 troops, has agreed to supply additional helicopters and transport aircraft. Belgium and Poland have agreed to help make up the shortfall of 12 helicopters.
France has also agreed to be the lead logistical nation, which means its troops will co-ordinate logistics on the ground. Italy has pledged a field hospital.
Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea welcomed the plan yesterday. But he said further resources would be needed before the full 3,750 troops were deployed. He was disappointed at the delays but added the EU's use of military forces was still in its "infancy" and he hoped lessons would be learned.
Many EU states already had considerable military commitments in the Balkans, Middle East and Afghanistan, he pointed out, and he was relieved they were able to respond positively to the Chad mission.
"While the process has taken longer than anticipated, it has reached a successful conclusion in the end," he said.
France, as the former colonial power in Chad, already has troops on the ground. These will join the blue-beret United Nations-sponsored EU mission when troops from the participating 14 nations begin arriving.
Mr O'Dea said while the mission had been categorised as "medium risk" there were still real dangers. "There is a problem with guerrillas roaming around taking pot-shots not only at the refugees but also at the French with whom they have issues."
It was imperative that the Irish troops were seen by locals as being part of the international peacekeeping mission rather than being there to "support the French, the ex-colonial power".
The EU mission would provide protection for displaced persons in the region and this would improve the lives of thousands of people, Mr O'Dea said.
Ireland's commitment to the year-long mission is expected to cost about €60 million.
The EU intervention has been sanctioned by the UN because the multiple conflicts in the border areas between Darfur, Chad and the Central African Republic are deemed a threat to peace and security in the whole region.
There are now more than 180,000 internally displaced Chadians and 236,000 Sudanese refugees in camps in eastern Chad. About 170,000 people have been forced to flee their homes since September 2005.
In addition, more than 43,000 refugees from the Central African Republic are in Chad and 20,000 people are thought to have fled to Cameroon.