Launched on 28 January 2008, acting in accordance with the mandate set out in United Nations Security Council Resolution 1778 (2007), the military bridging operation EUFOR Tchad/RCA in eastern Chad and the north-east of the Central African Republic came to an end. MINURCAT (the UN mission in the Central African Republic and Chad) has taken over the authority of the operation.
On 14 January 2009, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 1861 which approves of the deployment of MINURCAT- a UN military force to take over from the European force. EUFOR Tchad/RCA has been the largest, most multinational EU operation in Africa to-date, involving 3,700 troops. 23 EU Member States were represented in the OHQ. 19 States were represented in the theatre, 3 of which were Third States. The operation commander of EUFOR Tchad/RCA was
Lieutenant General Patrick Nash (Ireland) and the EU force commander was Brigadier General Jean-Philippe Ganascia (France).
EUFOR's presence, regular patrolling and planned targeted operations have contributed to a greater "sense of security" in its area of operation. On 15 March 2009, Operation EUFOR Tchad/RCA has been transfered to the MINURCAT which will benefit from good conditions of deployment e.g. operational troops in the field since one year, existing installations and astable, efficient logistic context thanks to previous experience.
More info on the UN Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad:
MINURCAT (Headquarters)
MINURCAT mission page
On 18 May 2009, the Council welcomed the fulfilment of EUFOR's mandate and underlined the exemplary cooperation at all levels between the European Union and the United Nations during the conduct phase of the operation. Lessons will have to be learned from this cooperation, but it can already serve as a basis for future collaboration. The European Union remains active at a political and diplomatic level in Chad, in the Central African Republic and especially in Sudan. The European Union continues to be active also in the region in the field of humanitarian and development activities.