CHAD/BELGIUM: Hundreds of foreign nationals evacuated amid fighting in Chad, EU foreign policy chief Solana says planned military mission on hold

Record ID: 777960

  • Title: CHAD/BELGIUM: Hundreds of foreign nationals evacuated amid fighting in Chad, EU foreign policy chief Solana says planned military mission on hold
  • Date: 4th February 2008
  • Summary: (BN10) BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (FEBRUARY 4, 2008) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF EUROPEAN COUNCIL
  • Embargoed: 19th February 2008 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: War / Fighting,International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVAYM4SKJQOPXIAT7ECIY16WTFW
  • Story Text: Hundreds of foreign nationals have been evacuated amid fighting in Chad on Sunday (February 3) while EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said on Monday (February 4) the EU mission was on hold but that the bloc still intended to deploy.
    France, the former colonial power, has a long-standing military presence in Chad and was evacuating hundreds of foreigners from the country.
    French army handout showed Chinese, Russian and Egyptian nationals being directed into tanks and moved to a safer location.
    Reports say that more than 400 French and other foreign nationals have now been evacuated to Libreville, in Gabon, with around 600 more gathered at safety points being guarded by French soldiers.
    Deby's government, reeling from the latest strike on the city in under two years, said it had beaten off more than 2,000 insurgents who stormed into the riverside capital of the central African state on Saturday, riding aboard armed pickup trucks.
    The EU which had planned to start to deploy the 3,700-strong mission last Friday (February 1) suspended the move after a column of rebels stormed the capital in an attempt to overthrow President Idriss Deby.
    EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said the EU wished to maintain the operation.
    ''What we have to be aware is that we took the decision to launch an operation in Chad because we knew very well that Chad is an important country for the stability, the regional stability. Now today, as you know, the situation not is still clear as far as the ground is concerned, as far as the political outcome is concerned, but we continue to maintain the the operation alive,'' Solana told reporters.
    Thousands of civilians fled Chad's capital on Monday after rebel forces pulled back from the city following two days of street fighting.
    UN officials estimate that around three million people have been uprooted by conflicts in the region, including the fighting in western Sudan's Darfur region, which borders Chad, and rebellions in Central African Republic.
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