Top UN official visits Chadian town ahead of planned mission deployment

The senior United Nations official in Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR) has visited a key town in south-eastern Chad ahead of the planned deployment of the UN peacekeeping mission known as MINURCAT to the area.

Victor Angelo, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative to CAR and Chad, visited Am Timan yesterday and met with the governor of the region, military authorities, a group of traditional leaders and other local dignitaries.

Mr. Angelo said he was in Am Timan in part to assess the security situation in the region, which lies close to the border with the CAR, in anticipation of the planned deployment of MINURCAT.

The mission’s role is essentially to reinforce security, administration and the justice system so that it can help create the conditions for refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) to return voluntarily and safely to their homes.

South-eastern Chad continues to be plagued by highway banditry, attacks by armed rebels and illegal poaching in the Zakouma National Park, where rangers have also been targeted.

During his visit to Am Timan, Mr. Angelo also visited the premises of the local gendarmerie and police, which were destroyed in a rebellion in February this year.