Chadian President Idriss Deby has issued a call for a European peacekeeping force for Darfur refugees, put on hold by recent unrest in his country, to deploy as soon as possible.
'I issue a solemn call to the European Union, and to the initiator of this idea France, to ensure that this force comes to take up positions as soon as possible to alleviate the burden we are currently bearing,' he told French radio station Europe 1.
'The international community must help the Darfuris who are threatened in their very existence,' Mr Deby said.
Mr Deby said yesterday that his forces had regained control after a rebel offensive on the capital Ndjamena that left at least 160 dead.
The unrest delayed the deployment of French-led EU troops in eastern Chad and northeast Central African Republic.
Ireland is due to send a group of 54 Army Rangers to the region. An additional 350 members of the Defence Forces are due to start deploying towards the end of March.
French Defence Minister Herve Morin said yesterday that arrangements were in hand to send EU peacekeepers within 45 days to protect 450,000 refugees from Sudan's Darfur region and locally displaced people.
Scheduled for January 28, the advance deployment of the 3,700-strong EUFOR Chad-CAR force was suspended last week as the rebels launched their offensive from west Sudan, attacking Ndjamena.
