Irish troops set to be part of EU military operation in Chad

AFTER months of frustration and haggling the EU’s military operation in Chad and the Central African Republic will finally be launched, though the operational commander of the Irish contingent Lt Gen Pat Nash has warned there are still gaps.

The troops, including the Irish Army’s elite Ranger wing, will set up camp near the Sudanese border in early March where, Lt Gen Nash says they will be in a good, strong position to carry out their mission.

The EU force of 3,443 soldiers from 14 countries will be trying to protect the estimated 400,000 displaced persons in camps and ensure the safety of those delivering humanitarian aid.

Lt Gen Nash, who has wide experience of overseas duty is proud Ireland is contributing the second largest number of troops.

“We are great champions of democracy in Ireland,” he said.

The mission has a robust mandate that allows them to use whatever force is necessary to carry out their job. For Ireland, this is the next stage in the country’s proud history of peacekeeping, Lt Gen Nash said. “It will be another excellent move for Ireland.”

It is also part of the country’s more modern approach. For a long time Ireland had an old-style, traditional peacekeeping policies developed around the time of their first UN missions. “This is changing and with the changes brought about by the Defence Bill in 2000, the Irish army is better equipped and trained,” he said.

They have been able to move into places like Eritrea and get involved in KFOR in the Balkans. “Liberia was a huge challenge for us and we had tremendous success there,” Lt Gen Nash said.

As an independent Irish group, they will be part of the European force in Chad. “We are there as a very serious, professional and well trained Irish unit.”

However, Colm Burke Irish MEP and member of the Foreign Affairs and Human Rights Committees of the European Parliament and author of a recent Parliament resolution on the urgency of the EU deployment to Eastern Chad, yesterday said while he welcomed the deployment it was well behind time.

“I regret that the EU, having made its initial pledge to this force back in September, has taken until now to sufficiently mobilise enough troops and equipment to make this mission operational. In my view, we should have been ready to deploy back in November when the rainy season ended in this crisis region.

“Many incidences of attacks and banditry by Chadian rebels have occurred in the meantime that might have most likely been prevented if the EU had acted sooner.”