Matter of UN Chad remarks 'closed'

DEFENCE FORCES Chief of Staff Lieut Gen Dermot Earley has said Irish troops in Chad were disappointed at “misinformation” by a UN official about their actions in the African country.

However, Lieut Gen Earley said the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had apologised for the comments of its spokeswoman in Chad, and the matter was now closed.

He insisted the criticisms expressed by UNHCR official Annette Rehrl to The Irish Times earlier this week had caused no ill-feeling among the troops and morale was extremely high.

Ms Rehrl had criticised the actions of the Irish troops during a rebel attack in Goz Beida in eastern Chad on Saturday, suggesting the soldiers waited until after the incident before moving in to evacuate staff. The UN body later said it regretted the comments.

“That matter is closed now,” Lieut Gen Earley told reporters in Dublin yesterday before opening a photo exhibition by the UN body about displaced people in Chad.

“UNHCR have apologised for the misinformation that came out and we accept that. There’s a very tense situation on the ground and people can see things differently to the way they actually happened.”

The 390 Irish soldiers and 46 Dutch troops in the peacekeeping force were “on top of the job”, he added, and the security situation in their area had improved since they arrived in Chad.

Irish troops were working with the available resources to provide cover for humanitarian workers and displaced people.

Manuel Jordao, UNHCR representative in Ireland, told the launch that Irish soldiers in Chad were playing a crucial role in one of the world’s most difficult humanitarian operations.

A peacekeeping force pushed to the limit: Weekend Review, page 3

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times