France mobilizes troops in Chad for Darfur humanitarian work
PARIS, July 30 (AFP) — France Friday ordered its troops stationed in Chad to provide security along the border with Sudan’s troubled Darfur region and said its military would help with the supply of humanitarian aid.
Due to the seriousness of the humanitarian situation in Darfur, where fighting has killed 50,000 people and forced over a million to flee their homes, President Jacques Chirac ordered the mobilization of French troops already stationed in Chad.
“Without waiting for the response of the international community the defense ministry” has taken several steps, including the deployment of an “observation force already in place” on the Chadian side of the border with Sudan’s Darfur region, said a statement from the president’s office.
“The observation force … will participate in the securing of the area on the Chadian side of the border, with a unit (of around 200 troops) deployed on the border,” it added.
France said it would also make its military transport available for bringing in humanitarian aid for what the UN has called the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Some 200,000 Sudanese have fled to Chad from the fighting in Darfur, but there have been problems in ensuring security.
The statement said France was continuing to support the African Union, which was expected to dispatch a 308-strong protection force to Darfur next week, and has detailed planning staff to help their efforts.
France said it will also lobby its fellow EU members and the international community for a global response to the crisis.
The UN Security Council on Friday passed a resolution warning Sudan to rein in the Janjaweed militias blamed for atrocities in the Darfur region in 30 days or face international action.
Sudanese officials have said they need more time to implement their promises to disarm the militias, rejected suggestions of sending international peacekeepers and said threats of sanctions only aggravate an already delicate situation.
The crisis in Darfur erupted last year when ethnic minority rebels launched an uprising against the Sudanese army and its Janjaweed allies.