French troops in fatigues loaded metal containers and cardboard boxes containing radio equipment and humanitarian supplies onto two white United Nations trucks parked in Abeche under a baking sun and clear blue skies.

France's ambassador to Chad told a news conference in the capital N'Djamena that 200 soldiers would deploy to the frontier with Sudan to help the aid effort and watch out for incursions from Darfur by Arab militias, known as the Janjaweed.

"The presence of 200 French soldiers should contribute to the stability and security for the people who are have settled in the country," Ambassador Jean-Pierre Bercot said on Saturday.