CHAD:Terrain, rebels and civilians will all pose challenges to the work of the 4,300 troops, writes Mary Fitzgerald, Foreign Affairs Correspondent
For the people of eastern Chad, the end of the rainy season means life becomes easier - but also a little more dangerous.
When the rains stop, the region's armed groups - a motley bunch of rebel forces, militias, bandits and Chadian troops - can move around more freely and so the threat of violence rises. From the end of this month, there will be another element to the equation - the first units from an EU force deployed to protect a string of camps accommodating refugees from Sudan's war-torn Darfur region and Chadians displaced by local unrest.
About 4,300 troops from 20 countries, including around 350 from Ireland, will take part in the deployment, its Irish commander, Gen Pat Nash, said earlier this week. The EU operation, expected to last 12 months, will complement a 350-strong UN mission tasked with training police officers and monitoring human rights. The EU component is due to be finalised in Brussels later this week.
For Serge Male, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) representative in Chad, it has been a long time coming. "I think they are even a little late," he admits.
The harsh terrain of Chad's eastern flank is home to almost 400,000 Darfuri refugees and displaced Chadians. In recent years, the area has been convulsed by violence. Clashes between local ethnic and tribal groups run in tandem with guerrilla attacks by Chadian rebel factions battling to oust President Idriss Deby. Militias and bandits sweep back and forth across the porous border with Sudan.
Caught in the middle are those who live in the camps - and those who work with them. Camps housing internally displaced persons (IDPs) have been raided and humanitarian workers subjected to attacks. In the last 18 months, more than 72 vehicles belonging to relief agencies have been stolen in desert car-jackings.
Another concern, Male says, is how to maintain the civilian nature of the camps - some rebel groups and militias have tried recruiting from the ranks of refugees and IDPs.
The European troops will not have an easy deployment, says one western military officer with extensive experience of the region. "Apart from the fact it's a very unforgiving terrain and poses huge logistical challenges, you're also dealing with a very complex situation that includes multiple actors. It's not a simple case of one side against the other."
Male says the mission must be clearly defined from the outset. "The EU force must make it clear to the population they want to serve what can and cannot be expected from them, how far their mandate goes, how long they will be there, what kinds of things they will be doing and where."
Although Chad's four main rebel groups signed a peace agreement with the government last month, many in the country are doubtful it will last. Some rebel groups have said they will attack the EU force if it is perceived to be getting in the way.
Yaldet Begoto Oulatar, editor of local newspaper N'Djamena Bi-Hebdo, agrees the first weeks and months will be crucial. "The European troops will have to establish their credibility right from the start, not only in the eyes of the people they are protecting but also, in a different way, in the eyes of the rebels."
The fact the force will be predominantly French could also complicate matters. Chad's former colonial power still retains a significant military presence in the country, one that has openly assisted Deby's battle against rebel forces in the past. Some worry this could compromise the neutrality of the EU mission and provoke rebel attacks.
"There are those who will always be suspicious of foreign intervention," says Mahamat Ibrahim Hassan, a Chadian doctor who has worked with relief agencies in the border regions. "People think if the French army increases its presence here, France will never leave the country completely. They wonder why the French pushed so hard for this deployment."
There are other concerns. Aid workers stress there must be a clear differentiation between the EU force and humanitarian organisations. "We don't want to get into a situation where we are being linked to a military force - that is a worry," says Jef Imans of the International Rescue Committee.
Another aid worker complains the deployment is too small to be fully effective, and could lead to the creation of safe havens for different factions.
"It will be impossible to patrol all areas. The zone is too big to secure with that number of troops. Will it really increase our security or will it make it worse?"
Others still wonder about the mission's exit strategy. "Maybe a year is enough to begin to understand the problems," says Yaldet Begoto Oulatar. "But it is not enough to resolve them."