Romanian prime minister approves mission to Chad

(BUCHAREST) - Romanian Prime Minister Calin Tariceanu said Wednesday he had approved sending 120 troops to Chad and the Central Africa Republic as part of an European Union peacekeeping mission there.

He also asked the Supreme Council on National Security to sanction the mission.

Tariceanu "announced today during a government meeting that he had approved a proposal regarding Romania's participation in the EU's military force in Chad and the Central African Republic," the government said in a statement.

Defence Minister Teodor Melscanu had already said in November that Bucharest would send 120 Romanian troops to Chad this year, as part of a peacekeeping mission to protect refugees and internally displaced persons in the conflict region.

The mission would last one year, with troops being rotated after six months, the defence ministry's spokeswoman said.

But the force still needs the approval of the Supreme Council of National Defense.

Under a UN Security Council mandate, the 3,700-strong EUFOR mission drawn from 14 nations will help protect civilians in danger, particularly refugees and those forced from their homes, and back up some 300 UN police officers sent to monitor camps for Darfur refugees and internally displaced persons.

Soldiers from 14 countries will take part, including 2,000 French troops, 400 Irish and 400 Polish.

A member of the EU since 2007 and of NATO since 2004, Romania currently has some 400 troops taking part in a peacekeeping mission in Iraq and over 550 in Afghanistan.