Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea has said rebel armies in Chad, where Irish troops are about to be deployed, are better equipped, more organised and more capable fighters than previously thought.
His comments come two days after a spokesman for the rebel forces, Abderaman Koulamallah, told The Irish Times Irish troops would be regarded as a hostile force because of our deployment alongside the French in the Chad-bound European Union Force (EUfor). He urged the Government to withdraw its troops from the French-led mission.
Speaking in Paris yesterday, Mr O'Dea said he believed the greatest threat to Irish troops would come from armed groups of opportunistic bandits rather than the coalition of the three main rebel groups.
"The one thing that slightly surprised me was that [the rebels] seemed to put up a bigger fight during the last hostilities than we anticipated. And they seemed to be better-led than we anticipated. There seems to be an element of military planning there."
However, while the rebels were armed with heavy machine guns and had sourced a fleet of new vehicles, they ran out of ammunition and fuel and were overpowered by Chadian forces before withdrawing from the capital, N'Djamena, earlier this month.
Responding to the specific warning to Ireland from Mr Koulamallah, Mr O'Dea said: "We hear what everybody says but it's what they do that we are inclined to take more account of. I don't anticipate any great threat from the rebels." However, he was "always worried" when sending troops abroad. He said the 400 Irish troops and all others in the 3,700-strong international EUfor mission were going to Chad and the Central African Republic on a humanitarian mission to protect refugees. They were not going to take sides in internal conflicts.
Defence Forces chief of staff Lieut Gen Dermot Earley said every effort would be made to make it clear EUfor's presence was "in no way threatening" to government or rebel forces.
Mr O'Dea added that during recent clashes in Chad, when the rebels came close to taking N'Djamenam, they made no effort to engage French or EUfor forces.
The rebels currently number between 2,000 and 3,000.
Lieut Gen Pat Nash, the Paris-based Irish commander of EUfor said an information campaign aimed at explaining the role of Eufor was already under way in Chad. This was taking the form of radio broadcasts.
Following talks in Paris yesterday with Lieut Gen Nash, Mr O'Dea said the first group of Irish troops, comprising the Army Rangers, will leave next Thursday. The equipment needed for the mission will be transported by Sunday, February 25th. The full Irish deployment will be in place by mid-May, just before the rainy season, and will remain until mid March 2009.
The mission has been delayed twice over a lack of medical and logistical resources, and more recently because the rebel advance on the capital closed the main airport. Mr O'Dea said all these issues were now resolved.
Lieut Gen Nash said EUfor would closely track any movement in Chad by the rebels by deploying daily surveillance flights. If rebel forces began advancing towards camps where Eufor will be protecting refugees, Eufor could act to maintain its own safety. This included use of "lethal force" if the need arose.