(VIENNA) - The Austrian government on Wednesday extended until the end of the year its mission in Chad, as part of an EU peacekeeping force to protect refugees from the war-torn Sudanese region of Darfur.

The mission may be extended further after the present deadline runs out, the government also said.

Some 150 Austrian troops are currently in Chad, after a first contingent arrived in late January, according to the defence ministry.

A total planned force of 3,700, with some 18 nations represented, is due to be operational by the end of June.

The European Union force, or EUFOR, in Chad and the Central African Republic is tasked with protecting the Darfur refugees, as well as internally displaced Chadians and Central Africans, who number 450,000.

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