On target as Army prepares for €60m Chad mercy mission
Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern showing off his skills to two football sides
The Government is expected to approve a €60m Irish Army humanitarian mission to Chad in one of the toughest environments in which the Defence Forces have operated.
The deployment of a 350-strong battalion of troops in the New Year to the African country will be one of the most difficult logistical operations ever mounted by the Defence Forces -- Chad is twice the size of France but has just 400km of roads, so Irish equipment will need to be airlifted to the Chad/Sudanese border.
Up to 30 flights by giant Russian An-124 transport aircraft will be needed for the deployment. The Irish troops will be part of a European Union military mission which is being deployed in response to a United Nations resolution. The aim is to improve security for the thousands of refugees along the Chad/Sudanese border.
Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern showing off his skills to two football sides in the Koubigdou IDP site close to the Sudan border, has just spent four days in Sudan and Chad.
He said yesterday the crisis in Chad was directly linked to the tragedy in Darfur in Sudan.
"It is clear this situation is extremely serious and it calls for a sustained response on the part of the international community," he said.
- DON LAVERY and GRAINNE CUNNINGHAM
