Fighting in Darfur between local militia groups and the government-backed Arab militia called Janjaweed often spills over into Chad and the CAR. The mission will consist of "short- medium- and long-range patrolling as well as quick-reaction force interventions where and when necessary," Irish Operation Commander Gen. Pat Nash said during a news conference in Brussels this week.

The EU mission won't have any of the logistical or other constraints placed on NATO's International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. Prompt help is needed in Darfur, however. A U.N.-AU mission to be deployed in Sudan has been severely delayed, causing concern for the safety of the EU mission.

But Nash said he doesn't think this will have a severe impact because of the distance of his troops from Sudan.

"We have no intention of crossing the Sudanese border and we have no responsibility for the Sudanese border," he said.

Nash said his forces won't confront any rebels who aren't interfering with the EU's mission; EU troops are allowed to fire back if fired upon, however.

The troops, most of them French, will also serve to protect U.N. personnel and facilities, make sure aid workers can move about the region freely and safely and support the AU troops. Besides France, the most significant troop delegations will come from Ireland and Poland, which will each send 400 soldiers, followed by Sweden and Finland with 260 and Italy, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Romania, Nash said.

Many of the French troops, as well as the force commander, the communication equipment, part of the Italian field hospital and the completed Camp Europe headquarters are already in Chad. The troops from other nations will start deploying in mid-March, Nash said.

"Our key goal is the provision of a safe and secure environment," he said. "There's much to be done to bring peace to this area."

Nash conceded the mission is a daunting one, saying it will be complicated by "an area imposing a logistical Everest." The theater of operations is approximately 1,200 miles from the nearest sea port, meaning all equipment has to be airlifted. It will also have to overcome a long rainy season and a lack of paved roads -- Chad and the CAR have only 300 kilometers of paved roads between them.

"It remains a complex operation," Nash said. "The security situation is volatile and ever-changing. During our reconnaissance, we were struck by the vastness of the area."

The area of operations is some 135,000 square miles, which leaves just one soldier to every 36.5 square miles.

Originally, the forces were to start deploying in December, but the mission had severe difficulty in getting commitments for helicopters, transport planes and a field hospital from its contributing nations. The battle for helicopters saw the EU forces competing with ISAF in Afghanistan.

Although the drive for equipment isn't yet complete, Nash said he felt confident the equipment would be made available when needed. "This mission was based on the assets available to me," he said. "I have sufficient assets to launch the mission."

The Chadian government welcomed the deployment though rebels in that country, who are fighting to oust Chadian President Idriss Deby, said last month that if the EU forces decided to side with the government, they too would become a target for the rebels. EU forces "have no intention of getting involved in local politics," Nash said.

The mission has been mandated for 12 months, beginning when the entire force is fully operational sometime in mid-May, but will undergo a midterm review after six months. Some countries such as Sweden, however, have only mandated their troops for a six-month stay, which could result in a complicated rotation. Eastern Chad and the CAR are expected to have been relieved of the spillover violence from Darfur by that time, however.

Countries will be responsible for funding their own troops. The mission has a preliminary budget of $176 million to fund common costs such as in-land transportation and building costs, which will be outsourced to contractors. The European Development Fund has also allocated $441 million in aid to Chad and $202 million to the CAR to train and equip a local police force and help refugees return to their native villages.

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