Brussels, 29/01/2008 (Agence Europe) - By presenting the EU's military operation in Chad and the Central African Republic (EUFOR Chad/CAR) on Tuesday 29 January in Brussels, the strategic commander for the force, the Irish General Patrick Nash, affirmed that the operation had sufficient means to be independent, particularly the French troops deployed in Chad and the Central African Republic as part of the Epervier and Boali mechanisms. The General affirmed that the force had sufficient resources to be launched and deployed but they would still need other resources for tactical transport and force protection. Negotiations are going on with third countries.
The General affirmed that France was a “very important contributor” and is currently concluding technical agreements that will, “enable us to use their assets for our FHQ, however the EU force will be independent”. France is providing additional resources for launching the operation and in this respect will provide troops for the rapid reaction force, as well as around 500 personnel to unload planes. These resources will be placed under EUFOR's command and will be independent of French command. The Epervier contribution (an operation launched by France in 1986 to help Chad maintain its territorial integrity) will be limited to access to the N'djamena company in the event of reconnaissance capacity being required (two flights a day with Mirage F1 planes). The planes will, however, remain under French command. In the initial phase, EUFOR will use the same means of deployment (maritime, Douala in the Cameroon and by air via Libya, landing in N'djamena). EURFOR will, nonetheless, have its own base at N'djamena. When the force reaches initial operational capacity at the beginning of March, troops will be transferred to Abéché or will be based at Forces HQ.
Asked by journalists about the resources EUFOR had, General Nash affirmed that the European force had “sufficient assets” for the instant but that the, “question of force generation has not been established”. Negotiations with third countries are still ongoing in an effort to general additional assets for tactical air transport and force protection. EUFOR will still need to find a strategic reserve battalion of 600 men. General Nash underlined the multinational character of the operation and explained that the first units entering the theatres of operations would be provided by Austria, France, Belgium, Ireland and Sweden and assisted by Italy, which will provide a company hospital. The force is expected to reach full operational capacity by mid-May, just before the rainy season.
The EU Special Representative of Sudan and EUFOR Chad/CAR, Torben Brylle, reaffirmed the impartiality of the operation and declared that, “EUFOR is an independent and impartial mission that will last 12 months”. He then stressed the seriousness of the situation in the region. He underlined the EU's strong commitment to finding solutions to the many problems affecting the region and highlighted the fact that, “deployment takes place at the same time that the deployment of UN/UA hybrid mission” (UNAMID). He said that this simultaneous deployment demonstrated that the European Union is trying to help find solutions to the problems and conflicts in the region. He said he hoped that this would help improve the security situation and obtain a solution, “the only possible solution in the long term is a political solution”.
EUFOR is the fifth EU operation and the third in Africa. The operations zone will cover 350,000 km2 in an unstable region without any infrastructure. 14 countries will be represented on the ground (France, Ireland, Poland, Sweden, Finland, Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal, Slovenia, Belgium, Austria, Netherlands and Romania. The last two are still awaiting a political decision) out of the 18 in total present in the theatre of operations (as well as the 14 countries present on the ground, the United Kingdom, Bulgaria, Luxembourg and the Czech Republic are represented at a Force HQ level). 22 countries will be represented at a Operations HQ level in Mont Valérien in France (the 18 countries, apart from Luxembourg, will be backed up by Hungary, Germany, Slovakia, Cyprus and Latvia). The operation will involve 3,700 soldiers under a UN mandate (Resolution 1778) under Chapter VII of the UN Charter authorising the use of force. The operation is expected to last a year but the mandate will be reviewed after six months. (A.By.)