Leavenworth Strategist

Chad, UN at Odds Over Peacekeeping Force

(VOA) Scott Stearns | Dakar31 March 2010

The United Nations and the government of Chad are to wrap up talks on extending a U.N. peacekeeping force in the African country. The two sides disagree over the future size of that force.

Chadian President Idriss Deby wants a rapid withdrawal of soldiers in the peacekeeping force known as MINURCAT.  His government says only several-hundred police officers from the force need stay to guard civilian personnel and facilities responsible for distributing relief supplies.

U.N. negotiators want as many as 1,000 troops to remain in Chad and the Central African Republic.  They are providing security for humanitarian assistance to as many as 250,000  Sudanese refugees and another 250,000 combined Chadian and Central African Republic civilians displaced by their own conflicts.

MINURCAT has already been extended through May 15.  U.N. officials say there has been progress on extending some civilian components of the force, including the training of legal staff.  But if these talks in Ndjamena do not produce a broader extension, most of the soldiers in the force will start drawing down in six weeks.

The U.N. Undersecretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Alain Leroy, told the Security Council this month the full MINURCAT force is still needed.

Security Council deplores renewed incursions in eastern Chad

(UN News Service) 8 May 2009 – The Security Council today condemned the renewed military incursions in eastern Chad, where the United Nations says ongoing clashes are hindering efforts to assist hundreds of thousands of civilians taking refuge in the area.

In a statement read by Ambassador Vitaly Churkin of Russia, which holds the Council’s rotating presidency for May, the 15-member body spoke out against the incursions “of Chadian armed groups, coming from outside.”

The Council stressed that any attempt at destabilizing Chad by force is “unacceptable” and demanded that rebel armed groups cease violence immediately.

In addition, it voiced deep concern at the direct threat posed by the activity of armed groups for the safety of civilians and humanitarian operations in the area.

In an earlier meeting, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Dmitry Titov reported that the UN Mission in Chad and the Central African Republic (MINURCAT) was able to confirm that the Chadian National Army was conducting air strikes against a rebel column in eastern Chad, in the area of Goz Beida.

While no significant population displacements have been reported as a result of the fighting so far, the clashes have “seriously compromised” the ability of UN agencies and their non-governmental organization (NGO) partners to deliver humanitarian assistance, he said...

UN troops to replace EU force in Chad, Central African Republic

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) — The UN Security Council voted unanimously Wednesday to deploy 5,200 UN troops to take over from the European Union mission in Chad and the Central African Republic (EUFOR) in mid-March.

Resolution 1861 also decided to extend for one year until March 15, 2010 the mandate of the UN mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT) to ensure the security and protection of civilians in the two countries.