Irish troops come under rebel fire in Chad

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

None of the soldiers, mostly from the Western Command, were injured and they fired warning shots over the heads of the rebels, who were clashing with the Chadian army.

This is the first attack on EUFor troops in Chad, where they are at the UN’s request until a UN peacekeeping operation can take over next March.

Up to 800 rebel troops were involved in the attack on the provincial capital of Goz Beida over the past few days and they were threatening the nearby refugee camp of D’jabal where about 11,000 people live.

A patrol of two armoured vehicles with 16 Irish soldiers were monitoring the fighting between Chadian army and rebel forces and put themselves between the camp and the rebels advancing on it at about noon yesterday.

“The EUFor troops were fired on and returned fire, sending warning shots over their heads. Nobody was injured,” a statement from the Irish-run operations headquarters in Paris said.

The troops were reinforced and two helicopters, a Puma and Gazelle, monitored the situation from the air while more forces kept an eye on the situation in the camps — there are about 11 in the area.

Up to 50 humanitarian personnel were evacuated to the Irish camp at their own request. There are a large number of UN and NGO humanitarian groups in the area looking after the refugees and with offices and compounds in Goz Beida, about four kilometres from the Irish camp.

Comdt Dan Harvey, spokesman for the EUFor Operations commander Lt General Pat Nash, said: “This incident underlines the complexity of the operation and demonstrates the importance of the professional multinational force to meet this challenge”.

The Chadian government was expecting some kind of attack before the rainy season begins in the next few weeks and had reinforced army troops in the region over the last week or so.

In all, about 3,700 troops from 14 EU countries are in Chad with more than 400 Irish of the 97 Infantry Battalion and 70 Dutch soldiers in Camp Ciara near Goz Beida serving with an EU force to protect about 80,000 refugees from Darfur and 100,000 displaced

Chadians together with the NGOs looking after them.

Fighting between competing tribes supporting and opposing the Chadian and Sudenese governments has been ongoing for the past five years. The worst manifestation of this has been in Darfur which borders Chad and has resulted in an estimated 200,000 deaths and has left about two million people homeless on both sides of the border.

Defence Minister Willie O’Dea is due to visit Irish troops serving in Chad tomorrow despite weekend clashes in the troubled country.

Mr O’Dea is expected to use his three-day official visit to meet Irish military officers and Chadian government representatives.

Mr O’Dea has described the operation as one of the most challenging missions ever undertaken by the Defence Forces.

A group of 50 Army Rangers and 60 military construction personnel returned home to Ireland last week after a three-month mission in Chad.