EU to keep more than 2,000 peacekeepers on in Chad, CAR

In January, the UN Security Council voted unanimously to deploy 5,200 UN troops to take over from the EUFOR mission on March 15.

UN Resolution 1861 also decided to extend for one year until March 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.

Secretary-General appoints Major General Elhadji Mouhamedou Kandji of Senegal Force Commander of UN Mission in Central African Republic and Chad.

EU to keep more than 2,000 peacekeepers on in Chad, CAR.

Source: March 12, 2009 report from EU Business (PRAGUE) - excerpt:
EU to keep troops on in Chad, CAR: general

European Union will keep more than 2,000 peacekeepers in Chad and the Central African Republic for a few months after United Nations troops take over command, a top EU officer said Thursday.

"Two thirds of these personnel are going to become UN peacekeepers for a few months," French General Henri Bentegeat told reporters in Prague, where EU defence ministers were holding informal talks.

EUFOR began a year-long mission a year ago to protect refugees from Sudan's strife-torn Darfur region as well as people displaced by the rebel insurgency in Chad and the northern CAR.

The force was comprised of around 3,200 soldiers drawn from 14 countries, including France, whose troops make up around half the contingent. [...]

In January, the UN Security Council voted unanimously to deploy 5,200 UN troops to take over from the EUFOR mission on March 15.

UN Resolution 1861 also decided to extend for one year until March 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.

In eastern Chad, carjackings, armed robberies and crime targeting national and international humanitarian staff continue, impeding their efforts to help nearly 300,000 refugees and almost 200,000 internally displaced persons.

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See Sudan Watch Wednesday, March 11, 2009
EUFOR transfers authority to MINURCAT 15 March 2009 - Secretary-General appoints Major General Elhadji Mouhamedou Kandji of Senegal Force Commander of UN Mission in Central African Republic and Chad.