The European Union (EU) member states agreed on Monday to plan a
peacekeeping mission to Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR)
for protection and aid of refugees.
EU foreign ministers, as they met in Brussels Monday, said the
27-nation bloc would continue planning a temporary operation "in
support of the multidimensional UN presence in Eastern Chad and
North-Eastern CAR."
The United Nations Security Council voiced concerns early this
month at the continuing volatility of the security situation in
certain parts of Chad and the CAR, which threatened tens of
thousands of refugees taking shelter there to flee the conflict in
neighboring Sudan.
In a statement, the Security Council reaffirmed its readiness to
examine the deployment of a multidimensional UN presence in the
regions, to counter in particular armed groups, bandits, and
"highway robbers."
Diplomats said the EU peacekeeping troops could be deployed to
Chad and the CAR in October at the earliest, who will provide
security for 300 UN police officers and civilians, while supporting
humanitarian aid efforts.
Preliminary plans for the EU military mission to Chad and the
CAR include sending 1,500 to 3,000 EU troops to refugee camps
bordering Sudan's troubled Darfur region, with most to be
contributed by France, a former colonial power in Chad.
The EU, however, emphasized that any mission should be backed by
the United Nations.
Any "operation should be based on a resolution by the UN
Security Council, with a clearly defined exit strategy," the EU
foreign ministers said in a conclusion statement.
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It should be conducted "in full cooperation with the UN and the
African Union, and in consultation with the authorities of the
countries concerned, as well as, as appropriate, with neighboring
countries and humanitarian organizations," they added.
(Xinhua News Agency July 24, 2007)
