Troops in Chad will swap over to UN

IRISH troops in Chad will swap their EU hats for blue UN berets when the UN takes over from the EU’s peacekeeping mission there next March, Defence Minister Willie O’Dea has said.

The small team of Irish soldiers still in Bosnia however will be pulled out next June as the EU’s force there down sizes and hands over responsibility to local agencies.

The final decision on keeping close to 400 troops in Chad will depend on the UN giving a mandate for the new operation and the Dáil approving it.

“We are favourably disposed towards leaving them there for another 12 months provided the UN gives a mandate for the new operation,” said Mr O’Dea.

He was one of the EU defence ministers attending a meeting in Brussels where the 14 countries with troops in Chad were asked if they would transfer to the UN mission — the first such transfer from EU to UN peacekeepers.

The Swedes and Dutch have said they will pull out altogether while the French, the largest group in the former French colony, will reduce their numbers.

Overall the UN hopes to increase the force from the present 3,700 to about 6,000 troops. Mr O’Dea said it would be a much bigger operation and the Irish troops would require greater back up.

The operation commander of the EU force is Irish man, Lt General Pat Nash who has been headquartered in Paris. He will continue for a few months after March to oversee the withdrawal of any EU forces not remaining under the UN.

The Irish would expect to change to wearing the UN blue berets and remain in Camp Ciara, which they have built in the east of the country close to Sudan.

The UN asked the EU to act as a stop-gap while they organised peacekeepers themselves. Their role has been to protect refugee camps and ensure humanitarian organisations can work in safety.