In the line of fire

There was already controversy about the Irish army’s deployment in Chad before the first troops set foot in Africa late last month. Opposition politicians openly criticised the mission in the Dáil and the media, while a spokesman for rebel groups in the central African state warned that they would consider the EU troops to be a ‘hostile force’.

Comdt. Feargal Purcell of the army’s press unit says the threats come as little surprise. "It’s very rare for the existing rebel groups not to threaten the force that is coming in to create stability,” he insists. “Threats are never taken lightly. But they’re not a reason not to go. If you were to be discouraged by that, you’d have to ask why you go there in the first place.”
Amidst all the debate, the significance of the mission for the Irish army has been overlooked. An Irishman Lieutenant General Pat Nash will be the overall commander of a force that includes troops from 14 EU states. Comdt. Purcell is keen to emphasise the importance of the Irish role. “We’re the second-biggest troop contributing nation,” he explains. “Command is extremely significant. When EU leaders got together, the Irish government was requested to provide the commander. That’s a tremendous honour and an onerous responsibility at the same time.”
The 3,700-strong force (400 of them Irish) is being deployed with a UN mandate to protect refugees and internally displaced people in eastern Chad. The majority of troops on the mission will come from France – which may pose a problem for the Irish, according to journalist Gill Lusk.
“Certainly, around Africa, it’s largely seen as a French force,” says Lusk, the deputy editor of Africa Confidential magazine. “There may be Irish troops as well, but it’s seen as a French initiative to protect the government of Chad. And I think that’s probably a fair description. They said that the EU force wouldn’t take on the rebels, but France would – it’s attacked rebel troops from the air before.”
According to Lusk, the Chadian government of Idris Deby is guilty of major abuses. “Its human rights record is appalling,” she insists. “Torture is considered routine for political opposition. When there was a coup attempt against Deby, the civilian opposition leaders all disappeared. Nobody knows whether they are alive or not.”
President Deby has a close relationship with Paris – when his hold on power was threatened by rebel advances on the capital N’Djamena at the beginning of February, the French government called for international support to defeat the rebels. Comdt. Purcell insists, however, that there is no connection between the EU force and the rebel offensive earlier this year.
“That has nothing to do with why we’re going there,” says Purcell. “N’Djadema was just a staging point for us to solve a humanitarian crisis 900 km away. I’m not going to speculate about what the French will or will not do if it happens again. We have no business getting involved in internal Chadian affairs, nor will we. The French troops serving with the EU force are also focused on the mission in the east. They come under the command of Lieutenant General Nash. He will dictate where all those forces go regardless of nationality.”
Arnaud Royer, a Chad researcher for Amnesty International, warns that all parties involved in the civil war have committed horrendous violations against civilians. He notes that a rebel commander accused of killing 200 civilians in a massacre in eastern Chad has since become an ally of President Deby.
“It’s not a clear-cut situation,” argues Royer. “You can be one day part of the armed opposition and then suddenly Deby gives you a post in the government. I hope that Irish troops will be aware of that when they enter Chad. If they expect to have a simple opponent to identify, it’s much more complicated than that.”