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The head of the European peace force in Chad has told the BBC that his troops would return fire if rebels attacked any refugee camps under its protection.

Gen Pat Nash was speaking for the first time since a Eufor soldier was killed two weeks ago on the Chad-Sudan border.

His comments came as Chad's government was accused by a rights group of killing and displacing people in border raids into Central African Republic.

Eufor's role is to protect civilians fleeing the border region's conflicts.

US-based Human Rights Watch says more than 1,000 people from the CAR have been displaced or forced to flee into southern Chad and are now living in refugee camps.

Map of Chad, Darfur and CAR

In the worst such attack in February, HRW says that four people died when six villages were destroyed in the area of Matoukoulou.

The organisation says it not clear whether the attacks by the Chadian army have been approved by the CAR authorities who in previous years have allowed it to operate within the border region.

Talking to the BBC's Network Africa programme, Gen Nash said a major challenge for his EU force would be to retain its neutrality.

The killing of the French soldier prompted a sharp exchange of words between Sudan and France, with French President Nicolas Sarkozy saying the soldier was assassinated.

Troops in the French-dominated 3,700-strong European force started to deploy to Chad and the Central African Republic last month after a brief delay caused by an attempt by rebels to overthrow the Chadian government.

Analysts say the coup attempt was backed by Khartoum - they say Sudan is against having European peacekeepers stationed on its border.