The EU has postponed the deployment of advance units of its mission to Chad as reports last night suggested rebels seeking to overthrow the country's president had moved into the capital N'Djamena. Mary Fitzgeraldand Jamie Smythreport.
A spokesman for Lt-Gen Pat Nash, the Irish commander of the mission, told The Irish Timeslast night that the deployment had been suspended for now.
"The deployment is postponed until the security situation stabilises," Cmdt Dan Harvey said, adding that all EU military personnel already in Chad, including eight Irish nationals, were safe.
The aim of UN-mandated force, known as Eufor, is to protect refugees fleeing the conflict in the Sudanese region of Darfur, as well as Chadians displaced by local unrest in the east of the country. The mission, which has faced several delays already due to equipment shortfalls that have now been addressed, will include 450 Irish troops.
There were conflicting reports from Chad last night, with some suggesting the Chadian president Idriss Deby had fled as rebels pushed into the capital.
The UN is pulling non-essential expatriate staff out of the city and France is flying in 150 extra troops to protect French nationals there.
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana is following the situation closely and will stay in close contact with Lt-Gen Nash, a spokesman said.
"We understand that the recent developments with the rebels are not related to the deployment of the Eufor mission. Elements of the deployment have been postponed but we do not believe this puts into question the future of the mission," he said.
The spokesman would not speculate on whether the mission could go ahead if rebels took control of N'Djamena. But he said an assessment of the situation would be undertaken shortly to determine when the deployment could go ahead.
Meanwhile, EU development and humanitarian aid commissioner Louis Michel, who visited Chad last month, strongly condemned the military advance by the rebels.
"I firmly condemn any attempt at an armed takeover," he said. "The population of Chad wants security, peace and reconciliation. The only acceptable means to gain power are those of dialogue and political compromise and validation at polling stations."
A spokeswoman for Slovenia, the current holder of the six-month rotating EU presidency, said it was monitoring the situation. "This is just a temporary break in the deployment, which is expected to continue as soon as possible. But this will be evaluated by the commander of the EU peacekeeping mission," she added.
On Thursday, 54 Irish troops due to depart for Chad were diverted back to McKee Barracks while they were en route to Dublin airport. The contingent, mostly made up of Army Rangers, was told to return after word came from Chad that the airport in N'Djamena had been closed due to the rebels' advance.
In November one of the main rebel factions declared a "state of war" against French and other foreign forces in an apparent warning to the EU mission.
Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea said yesterday evening that there was speculation the rebels were trying to deter the deployment. He said the latest developments were "an interruption rather than a cancellation" of the mission.
"It has made the situation more dangerous but that may be a temporary phenomenon," the minister said. "I heard the theory advanced that whenever the mission began to deploy that the rebels would start acting accordingly. It is very possible that this is the situation."
Earlier yesterday the French commander of Eufor on the ground in Chad, Gen Jean-Philippe Ganascia, said the rebels would not concern him unless they threatened or attacked "civilians, or the non-governmental organisations, or UN personnel" during their offensive.
But he also warned that if the rebels attacked EU troops, there would be retaliation.