WARSAW, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Polish soldiers will join a proposed European Union mission in Chad aimed at protecting refugees trapped in the violent region bordering Darfur, Defence Minister Aleksander Szczyglo said on Thursday.
Under a proposal from U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the EU force would protect civilians, humanitarian workers and the U.N. mission in Chad, which is facing an influx of tens of thousands of refugees from neighbouring Darfur.
The force -- seen by EU diplomats as comprising 1,500-3,000 troops -- would also work in the Central African Republic to try to block the transit of armed groups between Sudan and Chad.
"I have taken a decision to start preparations of our troops for a possible mission in Chad, which could start as early as this autumn or at the beginning of next year," Szczyglo told Reuters in an interview.
If Ban's plan goes ahead, it would complement the dispatch of up to 26,000 U.N. and African Union troops and police to Darfur, which has been locked in a four-year conflict.
EU foreign ministers are expected to make a final decision on the force in mid September.
Szczyglo said the timing of the mission had yet to be set but diplomats say EU member state troops could go in October at the earliest. Poland has soldiers on foreign missions in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Syria, Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
