Mission accomplished for the French Contingent of EUFOR RCA and for the representatives of Netherlands and Hungary

12/03/2015 EUFOR-RCA

With a simple but exciting farewell ceremony held in camp Ucatex, ended the mission for the French contingent and for the representatives of Netherlands and Hungary.

The French contingent, composed of Army and Gendarmerie has been the largest contribution to EUFOR RCA.

The tour of duty of the ‘black stork’ – the nickname of the Régiment de Marche du Tchad– was marked by a number of successful achievements in terms of improvement of the security in the 3rd and 5th Districts of the Central African Capital.

The establishment of a steady presence at the border between these sensitive areas has triggered an increase of freedom of movement and trade, while a number of dialogue initiatives were launched in order to foster inter-community reconciliation and the return of Internal Displaced Persons.

The cooperation with the EUFOR’s Integrated Police Unit on the one hand and the UN Forces on the other, was certainly one of the distinctive marks of the Multinational Battalion, whose core was formed by the ‘Black Storks’, side by side with Georgian’s Army troops.

The French gendarmerie served in the framework of the Integrated Police Unit (IPU) of the European Gendarmerie Force, alongside Polish, Spanish and Lithuanian comrades; they took effectively part in all operations aiming to ensure freedom of movement and a safe environment in the 3rd and 5th Districts of Bangui, where they became a reassuring and popular presence for the population, as witnessed in the local media as well.