Post by earl on Oct 31, 2007 12:07:11 GMT
French and Irish forces conduct reconnaissance for force near Darfur
PARIS: French and Irish forces are in Africa conducting reconnaissance for an EU peacekeeping force to help refugees and the displaced along Darfur's borders, officials from both countries said Tuesday.
European Union foreign ministers gave their final approval Monday for the 3,000-strong force in Chad and the Central African Republic, countries affected by the spillover of violence from Sudan's Darfur. Around half of the EU force would be French, and the commander is Irish.
"There are elements of reconnaissance on site," French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Pascale Andreani told a news conference in Paris. "They are not only French, there should also be U.N. representatives."
Two Irish officers, communications and logistics specialists, are part of the U.N. and EU reconnaissance force in eastern Chad and Central African Republic, and will return to Paris within a few days, said Capt. Feargal Purcell, spokesman for the Irish Defense Forces.
He said an Irish-only scout team would head to both countries later this month to begin work on an Irish base once a location is determined.
Among the questions the advance teams will need to answer is where the forces will be based.
France, Ireland, Poland and Sweden have confirmed they will contribute troops to the force, expected to start deploying next month, Andreani said. Spain and Belgium are also expected to provide troops. Irish Major Gen. Pat Nash will run the force out of a command center near Paris.
Nash, speaking by telephone to Irish national broadcaster RTE Tuesday from Belgium, said he expected to have troops from "approximately 20 nations and a force of up to 4,000 on the ground."
"It will be a challenge, no question about that," Nash said, noting that many troops would not be based near urban areas with easy supplies of water, food and energy. The remote region would be a more difficult place to operate than Liberia, site of Ireland's most recent UN peacekeeping tour, he said.
Nash said the commander on the ground would be a French brigadier general. Nash, Ireland's second highest ranking office, was in Brussels on Tuesday to meet Javier Solana, the EU foreign and security affairs chief, en route to his new Paris base.
Ireland, an officially neutral nation, has been contributing troops to UN peacekeeping operations since 1962. Its policy is to provide 10 percent of its army, or about 700 troops, to UN-sanctioned duty worldwide at any one time.
In Brussels Tuesday, Antonio Guterres, head of the U.N.'s refugee agency said the force on Darfur's borders was "a key instrument to allow for the security of the refugees ... and for the possibility of a more effective humanitarian operation."
U.N. officials estimate that around 3 million people have been uprooted by conflicts in the region, including the fighting in Darfur and unrelated rebellions in Chad and Central African Republic. The majority — some 2.25 million — are Darfuris displaced within Darfur.
The EU mission will be in addition to a planned 26,000-member joint African Union-UN peacekeeping force which is to deploy in Darfur itself.
The U.N. estimates over 400,000 refugees and internally displaced people are living in camps in Chad, most of them coming from Darfur.
Aid groups have expressed concern the force should not be seen to be dominated by French soldiers, saying that would make it difficult for it to work effectively. France already has troops in the region supporting Chad's government, which is facing its own rebellion, leading some aid workers to question whether the force will be seen as neutral.
The EU foreign ministers said in a statement the mission would be "conducted with full independence, impartiality and neutrality." They also invited other non-EU nations to participate in their mission.
EU officials estimated the cost of the force at €100 million for one year. EU nations have given the force a one-year mandate, but Guterres refused to rule out a possible extension, saying much would depend on efforts to negotiate a peace deal between the Sudanese government and Darfur rebel groups.
More than 200,000 people have died since rebels from Darfur's ethnic African majority took arms against the Arab-dominated central government in 2003, accusing it of neglect and discrimination. The Sudanese government is accused of responding to the uprising by unleashing militias blamed for atrocities against ethnic African villagers, an allegation Khartoum denies.
PARIS: French and Irish forces are in Africa conducting reconnaissance for an EU peacekeeping force to help refugees and the displaced along Darfur's borders, officials from both countries said Tuesday.
European Union foreign ministers gave their final approval Monday for the 3,000-strong force in Chad and the Central African Republic, countries affected by the spillover of violence from Sudan's Darfur. Around half of the EU force would be French, and the commander is Irish.
"There are elements of reconnaissance on site," French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Pascale Andreani told a news conference in Paris. "They are not only French, there should also be U.N. representatives."
Two Irish officers, communications and logistics specialists, are part of the U.N. and EU reconnaissance force in eastern Chad and Central African Republic, and will return to Paris within a few days, said Capt. Feargal Purcell, spokesman for the Irish Defense Forces.
He said an Irish-only scout team would head to both countries later this month to begin work on an Irish base once a location is determined.
Among the questions the advance teams will need to answer is where the forces will be based.
France, Ireland, Poland and Sweden have confirmed they will contribute troops to the force, expected to start deploying next month, Andreani said. Spain and Belgium are also expected to provide troops. Irish Major Gen. Pat Nash will run the force out of a command center near Paris.
Nash, speaking by telephone to Irish national broadcaster RTE Tuesday from Belgium, said he expected to have troops from "approximately 20 nations and a force of up to 4,000 on the ground."
"It will be a challenge, no question about that," Nash said, noting that many troops would not be based near urban areas with easy supplies of water, food and energy. The remote region would be a more difficult place to operate than Liberia, site of Ireland's most recent UN peacekeeping tour, he said.
Nash said the commander on the ground would be a French brigadier general. Nash, Ireland's second highest ranking office, was in Brussels on Tuesday to meet Javier Solana, the EU foreign and security affairs chief, en route to his new Paris base.
Ireland, an officially neutral nation, has been contributing troops to UN peacekeeping operations since 1962. Its policy is to provide 10 percent of its army, or about 700 troops, to UN-sanctioned duty worldwide at any one time.
In Brussels Tuesday, Antonio Guterres, head of the U.N.'s refugee agency said the force on Darfur's borders was "a key instrument to allow for the security of the refugees ... and for the possibility of a more effective humanitarian operation."
U.N. officials estimate that around 3 million people have been uprooted by conflicts in the region, including the fighting in Darfur and unrelated rebellions in Chad and Central African Republic. The majority — some 2.25 million — are Darfuris displaced within Darfur.
The EU mission will be in addition to a planned 26,000-member joint African Union-UN peacekeeping force which is to deploy in Darfur itself.
The U.N. estimates over 400,000 refugees and internally displaced people are living in camps in Chad, most of them coming from Darfur.
Aid groups have expressed concern the force should not be seen to be dominated by French soldiers, saying that would make it difficult for it to work effectively. France already has troops in the region supporting Chad's government, which is facing its own rebellion, leading some aid workers to question whether the force will be seen as neutral.
The EU foreign ministers said in a statement the mission would be "conducted with full independence, impartiality and neutrality." They also invited other non-EU nations to participate in their mission.
EU officials estimated the cost of the force at €100 million for one year. EU nations have given the force a one-year mandate, but Guterres refused to rule out a possible extension, saying much would depend on efforts to negotiate a peace deal between the Sudanese government and Darfur rebel groups.
More than 200,000 people have died since rebels from Darfur's ethnic African majority took arms against the Arab-dominated central government in 2003, accusing it of neglect and discrimination. The Sudanese government is accused of responding to the uprising by unleashing militias blamed for atrocities against ethnic African villagers, an allegation Khartoum denies.
