Six stories from today (updated to add the one from VOA):
From the AP...
European Union nations agreed [on] Monday to start planning for a possible 3,000-strong peacekeeping mission to Chad to help protect aid to tens of thousands of refugees fleeing the conflict in Darfur.
A meeting of EU foreign ministers said that any mission had to be backed by the United Nations "with a clearly defined exit strategy" and in cooperation with the African Union, neighboring countries and humanitarian aid groups.
They said in a statement that the EU could provide forces "in support of the ... U.N. presence in eastern Chad and northeastern Central African Republic, with a view to improving security in those areas."
The interim EU mission, if approved, would eventually hand over to a U.N.-African Union peacekeeping force, said French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner.
"Right now we are in the stage of constituting the support force, and all of that is going along the right path," Kouchner told reporters, adding [that] it would take "several months" to organize a possible mission and to coordinate with the United Nations.
The EU priority in the meantime, however, was to ensure [that] the United Nations gets a 26,000-strong "hybrid" African Union-U.N. peacekeeping force for Darfur in place, and to get both sides of the conflict to stick to a cease-fire and continue peace talks, EU foreign-policy chief, Javier Solana, said.
"The most-important thing for us now is to get ready for the deployment of the hybrid force," Solana said.
A 7,000-member African Union force has been unable to stop the fighting in Darfur, and the conflict there has spilled into the Central African Republic as well as Chad. Both countries have also faced attacks from rebels inside their borders.
Monday's green-light will allow EU experts to gather information and data on what countries could provide forces for the mission, and allow the United Nations in New York to start drafting a resolution to mandate an interim EU mission.
Preliminary proposals call for a force of between 1,500 to 3,000 peacekeepers to Chad to protect the refugees at aid camps set up near the border with Sudan's Darfur region.
The London-based rights group said [that] around 170,000 refugees from Darfur have fled just across the border into Chad because of violence and abuse "carried out by janjaweed militia and rebel movements."
The four-year conflict between ethnic African rebels and pro-government janjaweed militia in Darfur has killed more than 200,000 people and [has] displaced 2.5 million.
"In light of the general failure of the Chadian government to protect its citizens ... it is vital that any EU force in Chad, and indeed the planned longer-term U.N. operation, has the mandate and the resources to protect all civilians at risk, both refugees from neighboring Darfur and internally displaced persons," Amnesty wrote in a letter to Portugal, which holds the rotating EU presidency.
British-based international aid group GOAL UK said [that] it was surprised that the EU moved to plan for a mission in Chad and not in Darfur.
"This initiative is not dealing with the core problem. Certainly, the flood of refugees into Chad from Darfur is a humanitarian tragedy, but it is not the critical issue of the Darfur conflict," said John O'Shea, head of the group.
"It is in Darfur itself where people are suffering in huge numbers. Why hasn't the EU got the courage to send troops there?"
Several EU nations, led by Germany and including the Netherlands, Estonia and Greece, have expressed reservations about sending troops to Chad, said diplomats, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations.
Kouchner, supported by Britain and Sweden, is keen to push ahead with planning, which could lead to a final EU decision on sending troops before the end of the year, diplomats said.
Solana said [that] Chadian President Idriss Deby supported an interim EU peacekeeping force.
"He gave the green light to continue working in that direction," Solana said.
By Reuters' Ingrid Melander (also here)...
(An earlier version is also still available on AlertNet and Reuters Africa.)
The European Union took the first step on Monday towards sending forces to Chad and the Central African [Republic] to help the United Nations protect refugees trapped in the violent region bordering Darfur.
EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels asked the bloc's military staff to start detailed planning for a possible operation to help a U.N. police mission restore security.
"We now have a European initiative," French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, who had pressed the 27-nation bloc to act, told reporters.
Military staff will start working on a possible year-long deployment of a 1,500- to 3,000-strong force to be sent at the earliest at the end of October, diplomats said.
Eastern Chad and northern Central African Republic have seen a spillover from the 4-year-old conflict in Sudan's western Darfur region, with cross-border raids by Sudanese militias and the influx of tens of thousands of refugees.
Refugees and villagers in the remote areas have also been victims of fighting by local rebel and government troops, as well as bandits who have turned the Chad-Sudan-CAR triangle into one of the most dangerous and desperate regions on earth.
U.N. peacekeeping chief Jean-Marie Guehenno urged the EU last week to deploy highly mobile troops supported by helicopters, [in order] to help protect a zone 900 km (560 miles) long by 200-400 km (125-250 miles) wide, including a small part of the Central African Republic.
FRANCE PROVIDES BULK
The United Nations would train and support Chadian police, while the European Union would protect civilians, humanitarian workers and the U.N. mission, Guehenno said.
France, a former colonial power in Chad, is expected to provide the bulk of the EU troops. Spain is also considering a contribution, an EU official said.
EU foreign ministers said [that] they needed a U.N. Security Council resolution, with a clearly defined exit strategy, before sending troops.
EU foreign-policy chief Javier Solana told a news conference [that] the bloc's priority remained to support sending a hybrid U.N-African Union force in Darfur.
In Darfur, at least 200,000 people are estimated to have died and more than 2 million [have been] chased from their homes since fighting flared in 2003, when rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated Sudan government in a conflict over resources.
Eastern Chad has some 230,000 Sudanese refugees and more than 170,000 of its own citizens have been displaced as a consequence of the conflict, with more than 700,000 others affected by violence, the United Nations says.
Kouchner said [that] the EU mission should focus on internally displaced Chadians and also help for reconstruction.
"They are probably the Darfur victims who are the least taken care of, the displaced persons," he said.
The joint U.N.-African Union special representative for Darfur and head of the AU's Sudan mission, Rodolphe Adada, welcomed the EU move.
"Chad, with all the Sudanese refugees on the ground, with the Chadian citizens facing difficulties, deserves the full attention of the international community," he said in Brussels.
From AFP...
The European Union gave the green light [on] Monday for preparations to send an EU force to Chad and the Central African Republic to protect civilians threatened by conflict in Sudan's Darfur region.
EU foreign ministers, meeting in Brussels, pledged to "continue planning" a European mission to provide temporary support for a UN police force in eastern Chad and northeastern Central African Republic.
The ministers said in conclusions to their talks that any mission "should be based on a resolution by the UN Security Council, with a clearly defined exit strategy."
They added that it "should be conducted in full cooperation with the UN and the AU, and in consultation with the authorities of the countries concerned, as well as, as appropriate, with neighbouring countries and humanitarian organisations."
Diplomats said [on] Friday that a final decision on sending European troops to provide security for 300 UN police officers could be taken in September, so [that] they could be on the ground in October.
A UN relief-aid coordinator on Friday appealed for an early deployment of EU troops along with a UN police force to provide a more peaceful environment for internally displaced persons as well as for humanitarian workers to operate.
A diplomat said last week that the EU mission could include from 1,500 to 2,500 soldiers in Chad. Most will be provided by France, which already has soldiers in Chad and its other former colony, the Central African Republic.
Sudan and Chad accuse each other of supporting rebel forces in their respective territories.
The United Nations has estimated that there are 220,000 refugees and 170,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Chad, with daunting logistical problems for humanitarian workers.
In CAR, the number of IDPs exceeds 280,000, according to aid groups, largely due to persistent insecurity in the north of the country, where government troops are battling several rebel groups.
In Darfur, at least 200,000 people have died from the combined effect of war and famine since civil strife started in February 2003, according to UN estimates.
Other sources give a much-higher toll, but Khartoum disputes the figures.
From DPA...
(An earlier version is also still available.)
The European Union on Monday launched preparations for a European peacekeeping mission to protect tens of thousands of Darfur refugees in Chad.
Plans for the EU mission include sending 1,500 to 3,000 EU troops to refugee camps bordering Sudan's troubled Darfur region, where civilians are caught up in heavy fighting between pro-government Janjaweed militia and ethnic African rebels.
The violence has spilled over the border into Chad.
Ministers said that the EU mission should be a 'bridging operation ... with a clearly defined exit strategy.'
Any European operation should cooperate with the African Union and the United Nations, and [should] consult with Chadian authorities as well as with neighbouring countries, ministers said.
EU diplomats have said that the mission would be deployed for up to 12 months ahead of the arrival of the planned 'hybrid' force including African and UN soldiers in western Sudan.
France, which proposed the EU operation, is likely to be the main contributor to the mission, which is expected to be deployed at the end of the year or in early 2008.
The EU operation will focus on providing security, training and humanitarian aid for the Darfur refugees in Chad.
The four-year conflict in Darfur has led to the death of 200,000 people and [has] driven an estimated 2.5 million people from their homes.
EU ministers said that the 27-member bloc was ready to strengthen its support for the AU-UN mission, and called on other countries to also step up their engagement.
They also said that any conflict party 'failing to constructively engage in the peace process' in Darfur would be sanctioned with 'further appropriate measures, notably in the UN framework.'
While throwing its weight behind African and UN efforts to end the bloodshed in Darfur and repeated calls on Sudan to accept more UN peacekeepers in the province, the 27-member EU has so far not imposed sanctions against Khartoum.
Ministers also called for the punishment of human-rights violations committed in Darfur, saying that there could be no impunity for breaches of international humanitarian law.
International experts have said that any European mission deployed to Chad must be given authority to use force when they or the civilian population are under attack.
From the BBC...
The European Union has taken the first step towards sending a force to countries neighbouring the Sudanese conflict in Darfur.
European foreign ministers in Brussels authorised their military staff to draw up plans for an operation to deploy in Chad and the Central African Republic.
The move is to support a proposed United Nations peacekeeping mission.
France, which has a large military presence in eastern Chad, would take a major role in any European force.
Arab militia, operating from Darfur, have been attacking villages in Chad and the Central African Republic for months, causing tens of thousands to flee their homes.
Amid the instability, banditry has thrived, and there has also been fierce fighting between local rebels and government forces.
In 2003, Europe sent troops to the eastern [DR] Congo to halt a breakdown in law and order in the town of Bunia, while UN forces in the town were reinforced.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said [that] he thought [that] the mission should focus on internally displaced Chadians. "They are probably the Darfur victims who are the least taken care of, the displaced persons," he told Reuters news agency as he arrived at the EU foreign ministers' meeting.
In Darfur, at least 200,000 people are estimated to have died, and more than two million have fled their homes, in the past four years.
From VOA...
European Union foreign ministers have given the go-ahead on planning for the potential deployment of a short-term force to protect refugees in the border area between Sudan, Chad and the Central African Republic. Teri Schultz this report for VOA from Brussels.
Last week the United Nations peacekeeping chief urged the European Union to do more to help militarily in the violent triangle where Sudan, Chad and the Central African Republic meet. Hundreds of thousands of Sudanese refugees and displaced Chadians have been trapped in the area and suffer frequent attack from marauding militias.
EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels have responded by ordering their military planners to draw up an operational blueprint for sending forces to help U.N. police struggling to get control of the situation.
EU foreign-policy chief Javier Solana says [that] the idea is not new.
"That would be, as you know, an evolution of an idea that has been floating around for some time, and we are going to be doing the strategic planning for the possibility of that operation," he said.
If approved, the expectation is that 1,500 to 3,000 soldiers would be be deployed this fall with a mandate of up to a year. The EU force would help protect humanitarian workers and U.N. staff as well as refugees.
Some reports say [that] France would likely be the largest contributor of troops.
A U.N. Security Council resolution would be needed before any deployment could begin. Solana says [that] he has spoken with the Chadian president Idriss Deby, who supports the idea.
"He [Deby] gave the green light to continue working on that direction, so we are going to see how we can get engaged on that," said Solana.
At the same time, however, Solana said [that] the EU's priority is to get 26,000 peacekeepers from the U.N. and the African Union in place and implementing a shaky ceasefire in Sudan's troubled Darfur region.
"I would like to underline that the most-important thing for us now is to get ready for the deployment of the hybrid force from the United nations in Sudan that, as you know, has already been accepted by President [Omar] Bashir from Khartoum," he said.
If it is deployed, the hybred U.N.- EU force will replace the undermanned African Union force of 7,000 has been trying without success to halt the four-year conflict, which has killed at least 200,000 people and left millions homeless.
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