Ireland is considering sending as many as 400 soldiers on a UN mission to help rebuild Liberia.
It is believed the Government may approve the measure as early as next week after the UN Security Council today unanimously approved up to 15,000 peacekeepers forthe civil war-stricken country.Informed sources indicate that as many as 400 soldiers may be required for such a mission, given its difficult nature.
However, a spokesman for the Department of Defence would only say this evening that that matter is "under consideration".
He said it would be resolved "very shortly", possibly in the next fortnight or sooner.
However, it is understood that the Defence Forces are actively preparing to contribue a company-sized element on the mission.
A spokesman for the Defence Forces told ireland.comthat nothing would be decided until the Government gives its formal approval.
He said the Defence Forces were "always in training" for any overseas deployment. However, the spokesman added that elements such as the size of the force and force protection would be taken into account in deciding how many troops would be sent on such a mission.
He said it was "likely" the Irish soldiers, if sent to Liberia, would serve as a kind of force reserve, providing on-call back up for the multi-national forces on the ground in Liberia.
Their role would be similar to that carried out by the Irish forces mobile reserve that existed in Lebanon.
The US-drafted resolution says the operation wouldinclude 250 military observers, 160 staff officers and 1,115 international police.
It would integrate some of the West African soldiers currently in place into the UN force.
Nigeria has been the major player in peace efforts inLiberia, where its troops make up the bulk of a 3,500-strong West African peacekeeping force.
Its peacekeepers helped subdue violence in the capital Monrovia but not in rural areas.
Some 200,000 people have died in 14 years of almostuninterrupted fighting in Liberia that began when formerPresident Charles Taylor launched a rebellion in 1989 from neighboring Ivory Coast promising national redemption.
"The general consensus is that this is a failed state,"Mr Jacques Paul Klein, the chief UN envoy for Liberia, said earlier this week. "Now we have to rebuild the state."
"The former troops are robbing, raping. This situation will get worse before it gets better as the fighting is over and there is not yet any UN mission in place."
He said he had offers of troops from Bangladesh, Pakistan, South Africa, Ethiopia and Namibia. Ireland is expected to supply a headquarters company and Russia may contribute 1,200 soldiers and officers.
Additional reporting REUTERS