The Government of Chad has told the United Nations that it wants peacekeepers leave the country in the next few months. The U.N. says the mission is vital to protecting civilians and aid convoys that are assisting about a half million people who have been affected by conflicts in Darfur and Chad. Chad's U.N. Ambassador Ahmad Allam-mi told reporters Wednesday that his country would like the peacekeepers to drawdown or leave completely, but that N'Djamena would be willing to keep on about a thousand international and local civilian staff. “We want the civilian component to remain, but were told they are a package. The military and civilian component goes together. And that's what we're discussing currently, to find out if there is an interim solution,” he said. Allam-mi said improved relations with neighboring Sudan and a strengthened national police force that has an improved capacity to protect vulnerable civilians are two of the reasons why Chad says it does not need MINURCAT any longer. “We want MINURCAT to stay and we want it to stay with its full complement,” U.N. humanitarian chief John Holmes, who briefed the 15-nation Security Council on Wednesday, told journalists. “We think they're very important for the safety and security of the people in the camps, the civilians in general and for the humanitarian operation,” Holmes said.
