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<p>The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend
the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), raised concerns about the conduct of Chadian
troops in Central African Republic with Chad President Iddris Deby Itno when they
met on 13 February. The Government take any allegations of wrongdoing by national
armies very seriously.</p><p>Chad is making progress to tackle the issue of child
soldiers in close cooperation with the UN, although there is still work to be done,
particularly on birth registration and recruitment processes. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary
of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Boston
and Skegness (Mr Simmonds), pressed the Chad Foreign Minister, Moussa Faki, for further
progress when they met on 28 January at the African Union (AU) summit and 2 April
at the EU-Africa Summit.</p><p>Chad has announced that it is withdrawing its troops
from the African-led International Support Mission to the Central African Republic
(MISCA) in agreement with the AU. The UK is not part of MISCA, but has provided £2million
to MISCA to cover some essential MISCA costs including food, fuel and water. The UK
is also providing logistical support to French and EU deployments and £23 million
in humanitarian aid to the ongoing crisis.</p>
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