CHAD: UN gives green light for use of French troops
February 4, 2008 (UNITED NATIONS) — The U.N. Security Council on Monday strongly condemned a rebel attack on Chad and gave a green light for France and other countries to help the government repel the rebel force.
The statement was approved after Chad’s ambassador, Mahamat Adoum, sent a letter to the council appealing to all states for assistance to help Chad end the aggression by rebels who he said are attempting “to overthrow its legal government by force.”
The council statement “calls upon member states to provide support, in conformity with the United Nations Charter, as requested by the government of Chad.”
The final wording was chosen to satisfy Russia, which had objected to an initial French draft calling on U.N. members to support the government of Chadian President Idriss Deby “by all necessary means” — a veiled reference to military aid.
The drafting process began on Sunday during an extraordinary meeting of the council called by France and its three African members — South Africa, Burkina Faso and Libya.
The statement also urged “all states in the region … (to respect) their common border.” Council diplomats said the first draft had named both Sudan and Chad but this was dropped after several countries raised objections.
France’s U.N. ambassador, Jean-Maurice Ripert, said the statement calls on member states to provide assistance “to the legal government” to oust the rebels, but he added that he could not say whether France would provide military help.
“I guess there will be some request from the government of Chad addressed to some member states or to all member states of the U.N. and we’ll see,” he said. “What is important is that the Security Council allows the member states to do so and to answer the request for help and assistance of Chad.”
France, the former colonial power, has a long-standing military presence of about 1,500 troops in Chad.
The rebels arrived on the outskirts of Chad’s capital, N’djamena, on Friday after a three-day push across the desert from its eastern border with Sudan. Government forces and rebels clashed for a third day Monday with gunfire and shelling heard throughout the city, a U.N. official said.
KOUCHNER THREATS TO THE REBELS
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner issued a clear warning to rebels in Chad on Monday, saying he “hoped” that French troops would “not have to intervene any further” in the embattled country.
We really hope we won’t have to intervene further,” Koucher told reporters. “We don’t intend to put French troops on alert any more than they are already, or to start military operations.”
But “when it came to defending the airport (of Chadian capital Ndjamena), our forces did so very sharply, very effectively,” he added.
Kouchner who is the instigator of the Eufor deployment in Darfur seems very angry from the rebels because their attempt to take power in Chad caused delay of the operation.
Thousands of people were fleeing the city. Casualties from the fighting in N’djamena were believed to be high, and the violence threatened peacekeeping and aid operations intended to stabilize a wide swath of Africa that borders the war-ravaged Darfur region of Sudan.
Since the outset of the fighting, Chadian officials have repeatedly accused Sudan of backing the rebels. Sudan has repeatedly denied any involvement.
An aide to French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Sunday that Sudan wanted to crush Deby’s regime to keep the European Union from deploying a peacekeeping force that is to operate along the volatile border with Darfur.
The Security Council called on states in the region “to deepen their cooperation with a view to putting an end to the activities of armed groups and their attempt to seize power by force.”
(ST)
(some information for this report provided by the AP, AFp and Reuters)