MINISTER FOR Defence Willie O’Dea was this morning due to depart for a three-day visit to Chad where he will visit 416 Irish troops serving on the multinational EU peace enforcement mission, EUfor.
Mr O’Dea will hold talks tonight in the Chadian capital N’Djamena with senior United Nations officials and Chadian political leaders. He will be briefed on the current political situation in the region ahead of the UN assuming control of the mission next month.
The Government has already approved the Defence Forces’ continued participation in the mission when the UN takes responsibility in three weeks.
Tomorrow Mr O’Dea will visit the Irish base at Goz Beida in eastern Chad, near the border with Darfur. He will meet senior NGO personnel for talks on the humanitarian situation and will visit a refugee camp to see conditions at first hand.
Almost 450,000 refugees and internally displaced people have fled the conflict in neighbouring Darfur and fighting within parts of Chad. They are living in refugee camps on the Chad-Sudan border.
Mr O’Dea is being accompanied on the visit by the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces Lieut Gen Dermot Earley.
Irish troops are responsible for protecting and securing the area around these camps. The troops, the first of whom arrived in Chad 12 months ago, also conduct long- range patrols of up to one week to assess the security situation in remote parts of the country.
The situation on the ground is currently regarded as calm. However, trouble has flared since the Irish arrived with the area of Goz Beida witnessing a number of attacks by rebel groups.
