Hiiraan Online
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
DJIBOUTI (HOL) – The defence chiefs from ten East African nations gathered in Djibouti this week to work on a plan aimed at its building their countries’ own peacekeeping forces who would have to be respond to emergency situations in East African countries.
The plan which comes on heels growing insurgency, mainly by the Somalia-based Al-Qaeda linked Al-Shabab group which has carried out numerous deadly attacks targeting East African countries.
Somalia’s defence minister Abdiqadir Ali Dini who attended the conference in Djibouti told reporters Monday that the Standby Force would be able to intervene in a Member State in respect of grave circumstances or at the request of a Member State in order to restore peace and security.
“If the building of this force succeeds, I hope they can deal with the emergency security needs for East African countries.” He said.
Among the mandate of the force which would make up a military, police and civilian component is peace-building, including post-conflict disarmament, demobilization and observation and monitoring missions.
Last year, Somalia’s former Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed recommitted Somalia to the force (EASF) during an African Union summit in Equatorial Guinea.
The horn of Africa nation which is facing a deadly insurgency by Al-Qaeda already hosts a 21000 strong force from the African Union who are struggling to contain a guerrilla warfare by militants.
EASF deployed fourteen officers in a one-year mission from 2012 to 2013, as part of a technical team that supported the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) during the establishment