IRISH TROOPS serving in Chad donned the blue berets of the UN yesterday as the EU handed over command of a multinational force deployed to the region last year to protect Darfuri refugees and Chadians displaced by local unrest.
More than 400 members of the Defence Forces will participate in the follow-on UN mission which will have the same operational responsibilities as the EU force which was known as EUfor.
The UN mission – known as Minurcat – consists of 5,200 soldiers, some 300 police, and civilian personnel.
The EU formally handed over command to the UN mission at a ceremony in Abeche in eastern Chad yesterday morning after EUfor’s year-long mandate expired at midnight. Those in attendance included EUfor’s Irish operational commander Lieut Gen Pat Nash and French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner.
Two senior Irish officers have been appointed to high-level positions in the new UN force – Brig Gen Gerald Aherne will be deputy force commander, based in Abeche, while Col Brian Reade will take over as chief operations officer. Troops from Ireland, Albania, Austria, Croatia, Finland, France, Poland and Russia rehatted during yesterday’s ceremony. Soldiers from Togo and Ghana arrived in Abeche at the weekend to take part in the UN mission. Other countries, including Malawi, Namibia, Nepal, Norway, and Uruguay, have also pledged to send troops to Chad. The handover takes place at a time of heightened tension in the region, following the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) issuing of an arrest warrant for Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir for alleged war crimes in Darfur. Khartoum responded to the ICC’s move by expelling more than a dozen international aid agencies from Darfur last week, raising fears of a refugee exodus across the border to Chad where 250,000 Darfuris already shelter in camps. Increased rebel activity on both sides of the border is also a concern for humanitarian organisations working in the region.
The UN will reimburse Ireland for certain troop and equipment costs relating to the Chad mission from today. Minister for Defence Willie O’Dea said Ireland could be “rightly proud” of the leadership role senior officers and troops have played in both the EU and UN missions to Chad.