BRUSSELS, Nov 21 (Reuters) - A planned European Union peacekeeping mission to Chad might have to be cancelled if governments do not provide aircraft to transport the troops, an EU diplomat said on Wednesday.

The 27 nation-EU had failed to come up with the helicopters vital to transport the 3,700 troops over tough terrain on a mission to protect civilians there, diplomats said.

"Cancelling the operation is an option," the diplomat said after the commander of the mission, Patrick Nash, met diplomats from EU member states earlier in the day. "Nash said he would not put his troops at risk," the diplomat told Reuters.

The diplomat said the threat to cancel the mission should be understood as an alarm bell to push governments to come up with the 10 helicopters that were needed, along with a third hospital facility and other support assets.

"I can confirm that the critical shortfalls are still remaining," another diplomat said, adding that renting helicopters to non-EU nations was one of the options envisaged.

France is due to provide the backbone of the troops with contributions from nations including the Netherlands, Ireland, Austria, Sweden and Poland.

The force's mission is to safeguard refugees, civilians and aid workers who have suffered waves of attacks by Arab Janjaweed militias raiding across the border from Sudan's Darfur region, where political and ethnic conflict has raged for four years. (Reporting by Yves Clarisse; writing and additional reporting by Ingrid Melander; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

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