4 August 2008
Some 231 Chadian police officers today completed a United Nations programme which trained them to ensure the safety and security of an estimated 250,000 refugees and 180,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) living in the east of the country.
The officers - part of a new unit known as the Détachement Integré de Sécurité (DIS) - join 71 other police and gendarmerie commanders who graduated from the same scheme in June.
The six-week course, conducted by staff from the UN mission in Chad and Central African Republic (CAR), known as MINURCAT, was held in the capital N'Djamena and trained the participants in law and order, human rights and humanitarian law, among other topics.
"The sooner they get to the field the sooner will they contribute to the improvement of the security situation in our zone of operation," the Secretary-General's Special Representative Victor Angelo said at today's graduation ceremony.
By October, MINURCAT expects that 850 DIS officers will have completed training.
The mission was set up last September to help protect civilians and facilitate humanitarian aid to thousands of people forced to flee due to insecurity in the northeast of the CAR and eastern Chad and in the neighbouring Darfur region of western Sudan.
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