O'Dea Heads To Chad

On Tuesday, the Minister for Defence, Willie O'Dea T.D., began an official three-day visit to the African country of Chad where 416 troops are serving as part of the UN mandated EU mission (EUFOR).

Minister O'Dea is being accompanied by the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, Lt. General Dermot Earley.

Minister O'Dea is visiting the region in advance of March 15th, the day when EUROR's mandate expires, which means overall command of the EU mission is transferred to the United Nations.

The UN follow-on force in Chad will be known as MINURCAT from this date. Ireland has played a hugely significant and substantive role in this mission as the second largest contributor of personnel and provider of the overall Operation Commander; Lt. Gen Pat Nash.

Minister O'Dea will hold talks in N'Djamena (Chad's capital) with senior UN officials and Chadian political leaders to be briefed on the current political situation in the region.

Minister O'Dea will also meet with Lt. General Pat Nash before travelling to the Irish base camp in Goz Beida - Camp Ciara - to meet with as many of the 416 Irish personnel serving in Chad.

He will also hold talks with senior NGO personnel to be briefed on the humanitarian situation on the ground and will visit a refugee camp to meet aid workers and see conditions firsthand.

A tour of an Irish area of operations in Goz Beida is also planned.

Almost 450,000 refugees and internally displaced people who have fled the violent and horrific conflict in Darfur are living in refugee camps along the border between Chad and Sudan.

Irish troops are responsible for protecting and securing the area around these camps to ensure that the refugees can live free from fear of attack and that humanitarian aid is safely distributed to them.

"I am very much looking forward to meeting our troops on the ground in Chad who are doing a tremendous job under extremely difficult conditions and terrain.

"The overall security situation in the Irish area of operations is currently calm but volatile. I know our troops have made a real and lasting difference on the ground over the last 12 months," stated Minister O'Dea in advance of his visit.