UN considers force for Chad
2007-07-14 09:17
New York - With the Darfur
conflict spilling into Chad and the Central African Republic,
the European Union and the United Nations are considering
troops and police to protect fleeing Sudanese refugees.
Stressing that talks were still in the preliminary stage,
Jean-Marie Guehenno, the undersecretary-general in charge of
peacekeeping, told reporters on Friday the concept was a
European military force in Chad and a "UN mission with a
strong police component."
Guehenno said he was traveling to Brussels next week for
discussions with EU officials on protecting refugees and people
fleeing their villages in eastern Chad because of the fighting
in neighboring Darfur.
He also advocated international protection for the homeless
in the northern part of the Central African Republic, which,
like Chad, borders Sudan's Darfur region.
UN Security Council diplomats said the hope was that the
EU would send forces into Chad for about six months, to be
replaced after that by a UN operation.
20 000 troops
It is far from certain whether the United Nations, which is
scrambling to find more than 20 000 troops and police for
Darfur, could field a force in Chad and the EU only wants its
troops to stay for a limited period.
In Darfur, at least 200 000 people are estimated to have
died and 2.1m chased from their homes since fighting
flared in 2003 when African rebels took up arms against the
Arab-dominated Sudan government in a conflict over resources.
Eastern Chad has some 230 000 Sudanese refugees and 120 000
of its own citizens chased from villages along the border with
Darfur, mainly by pro-Sudan government militia. Most live in
arid camps in the impoverished country.
France last month asked the EU to send up to 12 000 troops
to Chad to set up a humanitarian corridor to Darfur refugees.
EU foreign ministers are due to discuss Sudan when they
next meet on July 23, looking at what the EU can do to support
an existing African Union force in the region and what could be
done in Chad, an EU official said in Brussels on Thursday.
Faced with large numbers of refugees arriving from Darfur,
and struggling to contain violence linked to the Darfur
conflict and a domestic rebellion, Chad has repeatedly called
for international assistance to protect refugees but until
recently has balked at a military force.