The United Nations is looking to create an international force to help protect civilians and refugees in Chad from attacks by armed groups spilling over from Sudan's Darfur region, a UN official said today.
We have a seriously deteriorating security situation in Chad and the government's capacity is also diminishing in terms of security response," Kingsley Amaning, humanitarian coordinator for the United Nations in Chad, said.
Therefore along with the (Chadian) government we are looking at the possibility of putting in place an expatriate, international force that will support government efforts to provide security in the areas where we are operating."
UN humanitarian chief Jan Egeland earlier met Chad's President Idriss Deby to discuss the situation in the country's long and porous border region with Darfur, where armed groups have been mounting cross-border raids on villages.
"It's very clear that Chad has limitations with its present armed forces being small and its police force being even smaller, and that's why ... we are looking at other methods to try to protect the civilian, refugee and displaced populations," Egeland told reporters.
UN officials gave no details which countries might provide soldiers for any mission or how large it would be.
Chad's army has been stretched by rebel attacks culminating in an assault on the capital N'Djamena last month.
Deby accuses Sudan of backing the rebels and has warned that if the international community does not solve the Darfur crisis quickly and guarantee security along the border then his country would no longer be able to shelter Sudanese refugees