EU may send soldiers to protect Darfur refugees

(BRUSSELS) - EU officials may send soldiers to Chad and the Central African Republic to protect civilians caught up in the brutal Darfur conflict in neighbouring Sudan, EU diplomats said Wednesday.

Officials will meet Monday to study the proposal after the United Nations approached the EU for help.

Political approval for the move could come as early as September, said one diplomat.

"Deployment could then start in October, in phase with what the United Nations does," he added.

Another diplomat said that while the size of the European force was still to be decided, they tended to be talking about between 1,500 and 2,500 soldiers.

The main contributors to the force would be French, he added. France already has soldiers based in both countries.

"But we are looking for the participation of other European countries," said one diplomat.

The US-based group Human Rights Watch warned on Tuesday about the need to avoid any confusion between a French and a European force, given Paris' strong political ties with Chad and the Central African Republic.

Jean-Marie Guehenno, head of UN peacekeeping operations, had talks with EU officials about this question on Monday and Tuesday.

He said last week the UN Security Council was hoping for an EU military force along with "a multi-dimensional UN mission with a strong police component".

They would help specialized Chadian forces ensure security in camps for refugees and internally displaced persons in the area.

He stressed the need for close "coordination mechanisms" in the form of liaison offices between such an EU-UN force and the planned African Union-UN force that is to take over peacekeeping from cash-strapped AU troops in Darfur.

Khartoum last month accepted the deployment of the joint UN-AU peacekeeping force that will have some 20,000 soldiers in Darfur.

Sudan and Chad accuse each other of supporting rebel forces in their respective territories.