Repatriation of Finnish EU troops from Chad delayed by one week

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The return home of Finnish peacekeepers from Chad in Central Africa will be delayed by a week because of the denial of a request to overfly the area.
      Around 30 peacekeepers were supposed to start their journey back to Finland on Sunday, but by the looks of it their homecoming will not take place until Monday of next week.
      “We will still try to get an earlier flight organised, but right now the eighth of December looks good”, explains Pori Brigade chief of staff Lt. Col. Pekka Saariaho.
     
The denial of the request to fly over the area did not come as a complete surprise.
      “Such permission is not necessarily granted automatically down there. We have prepared for that”, says land forces spokesman Lauri Inna.
      The Chad flights have been taken care of by a German operator. The airline used has also been chosen by the Germans.
     
The contracts of the peacekeepers, who have served for four months, will end on Friday. According to Saariaho the service time can be extended to a certain degree, but this will cause additional expenses.
      “Of course the men are displeased with the delay, but as experienced soldiers they are aware of how difficult the operation has been and they have prepared for this sort of thing.”
      If anyone has a pressing need to make it to Finland by a certain date, his return can be organised through a commercial airline, Saariaho explains.
      The repatriation of the entire group by using a commercial airline would be impossible, for example, because of the amount of equipment involved.
      Once back in Finland the soldiers still have three more days of duty left, during which time they will return their equipment and go through a medical examination. A repatriation function will also be organised for them.
      A change crew, another 30 or so soldiers, are meant to set off for Chad as soon as a flight has been organised.
     
The European Union sent a 3,700-strong military crisis management force, including 60 Finns, to Chad in March. The EUFOR troops have protected the refugees fleeing to Chad from Darfur in Sudan and also the aid workers in the area.
      The EU mission will be concluded in March 2009, after which time the operation is set to continue under United Nations’ command.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Vanguard of Finnish EUFOR peacekeepers heads for Chad (20.2.2008)

Links:
  EUFOR Chad/CAR (Wikipedia)

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