The Irish commander of the EU peace enforcement mission to Chad today warned the troubled African region could face a worsening humanitarian situation.

Defence Minister Willie O’Dea today begins an official three-day visit to Irish troops serving in Chad.

Officials at the United Nations are investigating accusations the organisation withdrew George Clooney's security escort as he travelled to a dangerous area of Africa.

THE EU force in Chad is bracing itself for a tough second half of their tour, with trouble expected from rebel groups and bandits.

IRISH troops are leading a mission in Chad to protect refugee farmers returning to their land and reassure villages of their safety under the protection of EU troops.

IRISH troops in Chad were monitoring the security situation in the troubled African country last night following an explosion in the capital, N’djamena.

I AM writing in response to Antony Barnwell’s short letter (‘Peace enforcers’, July 1) and in defence of Ann Cahill and media commentators like her.

IRISH troops have had more than 200 encounters with armed bandits and have come under fire while defending refugee camps in Chad, the mid-term review of the mission to the embattled African state has been told.

SENDING in troops to protect refugees and aid agencies at the very heart of a humanitarian crisis may seem like an obvious move, but for Ireland and Europe it has been a very controversial one.

THE refugee camp of D’jabal is a rough 20-minute ride away from Camp Ciara.

BOTH the UN and Javier Solana, the EU’s foreign policy chief, have defended the actions of Irish troops in Chad when armed groups tried to attack refugee camps and NGO compounds at the weekend.

Defence Minister Willie O'Dea is today visiting thousands of refugees living in camps on the border between Chad and Darfur.

IRISH troops came under fire from rebel groups in Chad where they are protecting refugee camps close to the Darfur border.

IRISH troops arriving in Chad face a race against time to establish their presence before the rainy season turns their baking desert home into a sea of mud.

Defence Minister Willie O’Dea today begins a two-day trip to Kosovo and Austria.

A HUGE shipment of army weapons and essential supplies to equip Irish troops in Chad is scheduled to land in west Africa tomorrow.

Senior gardaí are travelling to boost morale among colleagues serving in an EU police force in Bosnia-Herzegovina this week, it was revealed today.

AS THE funeral of the first member of the EU peacekeeping mission to be killed in Chad took place yesterday, Irish MEP Colm Burke called for the European Parliament to throw its weight behind peace talks in the country.

Minister for Defence Willie O’Dea today used an official visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina to tour the scenes of some of the worst atrocities of the three-year Bosnian War.

The Minister for Defence Willie O’Dea will visit the stadium in Sarajevo today where U2 staged a symbolic concert after the Bosnian War ended.

Tensions have increased in Bosnia-Herzegovina since Kosovo declared independence but Irish troops are safe, Defence Minister Willie O’Dea said tonight.

Britain has begun the withdrawal of 600 troops from the European Union peace force in Bosnia.

The European Union plans to pull its peacekeepers out of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on schedule, despite heightened tension over the upcoming results of key elections, senior officials said today.

The European Union peace force in Bosnia (EUFOR) has apprehended former Bosnian Serb president Mirko Sarovic, police say.

Fugitive war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic was spotted in southern Bosnia in July, but Nato and European Union troops failed to capture him, a government report said.

Police and spies have practically taken over the house of Bosnia’s most wanted war crimes fugitive Radovan Karadzic, anxious to see whether he returns home for the funeral of his mother, a Sarajevo daily newspaper reported today.

Irish soldiers today took up duties with the new EU peacekeeping force in Bosnia.

Fine Gael MEP for Dublin Gay Mitchell has said the time has come for Ireland to get off the neutrality fence and take part in an EU common defence policy.

The European Union begins its biggest-ever military operation today, when it formally takes over Nato’s peacekeeping mission in Bosnia with 7,000 troops.