The European Union Force (Eufor) arrived in eastern Chad in March 2008. Its role is to protect civilians, refugees and displaced people in a vast region that shares a border with the war-torn Sudanese province of Darfur. Its mission ends in March 2009 when it will be replaced by a UN force. Eufor was initially set up with the idea of preventing the Darfur conflict from spreading across the border. But the reality today is that the main problem the population faces in eastern Chad is common banditry. And Eufor doesn’t have the mandate to arrest bandits; it is not a police force. Many Chadians and humanitarian workers say Eufor’s mandate is therefore not adapted to the problems on the ground. As EU defense ministers meet in Deauville, France Oct. 1-2, 2008 to discuss Eufor and other joint European missions, FRANCE 24 presents four reports from Chad by correspondents Nicolas Germain and Virginie Herz.