CHAD:THE EUROPEAN mission to Chad is struggling to protect Darfuri refugees who have crossed the border from Sudan, according to a report published today by Oxfam.
It warns that delays in deploying police, red tape and a lack of co-ordination have left half a million people at risk from spiralling insecurity and given EU troops an impossible task.
Roland Van Hauwermeiren, an Oxfam country director in Chad, said: "Having fled the violence in Darfur and Chad, people thought they had found sanctuary but eastern Chad is a . . . lawless land and they are now living in constant threat . . . People face theft of livestock, attacks, robberies and rape.
"EUfor troops are attempting to keep a lid on the violence, but they cannot do it alone, and urgently need the back up of the mission's promised police."
An EU protection force of 3,700 troops for Chad was authorised one year ago and is close to full strength. The Irish Defence Forces is one of its key contributors, sending 450 soldiers and providing the operation's overall commander, Lieut Gen Pat Nash.
The force's role is to protect civilians and to ensure a secure environment for the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Hundreds of thousands of Darfuris fled across the border into Chad at the outbreak of violence five years ago seeking a haven from government and Janjaweed attacks.
Today's Oxfam report, Mission Incomplete: Why Civilians Remain at Risk in Eastern Chad, concludes that the protection force is struggling to cope with growing banditry in the border region.
Although EUfor has made many people feel safer by patrolling roads, destroying unexploded ordnances, and by positioning battalions around camps, the second part of the mission - a UN police force - is not yet operational.
To date, 320 Chadian police have been trained to provide security but have yet to be deployed.
The result, according to Oxfam, is a "law and order vacuum" where bandits are free to rob and kill without fear. Comdt Dan Harvey, a spokesman for EUfor based in Paris, said the force was working hard to provide security around refugee camps.