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UN takes over Chad, CAR mission from EU peacekeepers
Abeche, Chad (AFP) March 15, 2009 United Nations forces took over command from European Union peacekeepers here Sunday to protect refugees and displaced people in Chad and the Central African Republic. The EU's EUFOR troops swapped their berets for the UN peacekeeping ones in in the eastern Chadian town of Abeche in a symbolic handover ceremony attended by senior officials and diplomats, including French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner. Some 5,200 peacekeepers from the UN's MINURCAT mission are now charged with protecting refugees from Sudan's strife-torn Darfur region and people displaced by a rebel insurgency in Chad and northern Central African Republic. But roughly 2,000 members of the European force will remain for a few more months under the UN beret until African and Nepalese units arrive. "This is clear proof of a new commitment to this part of the world," said EUFOR's Irish commander, General Patrick Nash, who said Europe's engagement in the area would continue. "This transfer comes at a moment when tensions are crystallising across the sub-region," said Alain Le Roy, the UN under secretary-general for peacekeeping operations. "I am calling on all the actors to show restraint and to seek political rather than military solutions," he added. The handover follows the indictment earlier this month of Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the western Darfur area. The Sudanese government subsequently ordered the expulsion of a number of aid agencies and Beshir has warned peacekeepers and aid groups to obey Sudanese law or face expulsion. A January UN resolution to deploy the UN peacekeepers also extended the mission's mandate to ensure security and protection of civilians in the two countries. Carjackings, armed robberies and crime targeting national and international humanitarian staff impedes efforts to help nearly 300,000 refugees and almost 200,000 internally displaced people. For its part, the international aid agency Oxfam said Sunday the mission had proved a failure. "Nothing has improved since EUFOR's arrival," Oxfam's Chad representative Roland Van Hauwerneiren said after the ceremony. He cited 7,000 forced internments in refugee camps, an average of 25 attacks per month on humanitarian staff and three deaths among aid workers over the past year. UN representatives have said the 7,000 were the result of Sudanese rebel activities in Chad, with internal security in the camps the responsibility of MINURCAT. Share This Article With Planet Earth
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