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EU Agrees to Plug Gaps for Chad Mission | |||
2008-01-14 | |||
A European Union peacekeeping force looks likely to begin deploying in Chad later this month after shortages in helicopters and medical equipment were finally plugged at a meeting in Brussels on Friday. The European Union has been struggling for months to assemble enough equipment to launch a peacekeeping mission in Chad. Finally on Friday, the deployment got the green light after military experts from member states met in Brussels and agreed to plug the shortfalls. The force now looks likely to deploy by the end of the month. The mission had been scheduled to go into eastern Chad in October but was held up by key shortages of helicopters and medical equipment. At Friday's meeting France finally agreed to provide most of the required aircraft, while Italy confirmed it would take care of medical needs.
France is providing the bulk of the troops, a total of 3,600, and they are expected to be on the ground by Jan. 29. The force will be under the command of Irish Lieutenant-General Patrick Nash, and Ireland is providing 400 troops, including a 50-strong unit of the elite Irish Army Rangers. A total of 14 countries, including the Netherlands and Poland are sending soldiers. "It is the most multinational deployment we have launched in Africa," one EU diplomat told Reuters.
Speaking in Dublin on Friday, O'Dea said that there had been concerns in Ireland about bands of guerrillas taking "pot shots" at UN peacekeeping forces.
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Posted by:anonymous5089 |