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VIENNA, Austria (AP) - A contingent of about 50 Austrian troops headed to Chad early Tuesday to take part in a European Union peacekeeping mission, the Defense Ministry said.
They will join some 20 to 25 Austrian soldiers already in the central African country, and the number is to rise to a total of 160 by the end of March, said ministry spokesman Maj. Wolfgang Schneider. Tuesday's contingent will mainly build accommodation for Austrian troops but it also includes medics.
The delayed EU mission, which will eventually number 3,700 troops, is designed to protect refugees from Sudan's Darfur region and others caught up in turmoil along Sudan's borders with Chad and the Central African Republic.
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