NASSIR Posted April 11, 2005 East Africa launches first brigade of pan-African peacekeeping force Agence France Presse -- English April 11, 2005 Seven east African states on Monday agreed to launch the first of five brigades intended to form a 15,000-strong pan-African peacekeeping force to deal with the continent's troublespots despite funding problems that could hobble the operation. The 5,500-strong East African Standby Brigade (EASBRIG) will be a core component of the African Union's planned African Standby Force (ASF) that is planned to be up and running by next year, officials said. The brigade will be made up of troops from the Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda, the Seychelles, Somalia and Sudan and is to be coordinated by regional east African Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD). "Eritrea, Madagascar and Seychelles are members of the eastern brigade, but did not sent representatives to sign," Samora Yunus, chief of staff of the Ethiopian army told AFP. Tanzania and Mauritius, geographically located in the eastern part of the continent, will be part of the southern brigade, led by Johannesburg, IGAD sources added. IGAD secretary general Attalla Bashir said that to be viable, EASBRIG would require a major influx of cash and needed 2.5 million dollars (1.9 million euros) just to fund its operational headquarters to be based in Addis Ababa. "The most serious challenge that is anticipated in building EASBRIG is the issue of availability of financial resources," he said. "Taking into account this concern and to ensure ownership and independence of the mechanism ... member states should shoulder the primary responsibility to contribute to the EASBRIG Fund," Bashir said. The official formation of the brigade is the first tangible step in realizing the African Union's goal of having the full African Standby Force in place by June 30 2006 as a unit able to respond quickly to crises. "In launching (EASBRIG) today ... we are making a solemn commitment to contribute the resources required to sustain the standby force," Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said. He noted that the project was born in part by a desire to avoid the inaction that plagued Africa and the world during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda in which 800,000 people were killed in the space of just 100 days. The ASF should be "capable of intervention at a short notice to save human lives and avert destruction to property that we have subscribe to and wish to pursue with vigour." "In adopting a decision to set up an African Standby Force, "(We) were mindful of the unimaginably heinous Rwandan genocide that occured at our doorstep," Meles said. "The whole international community was unable to do anything to prevent or stop genocide," he said, adding: "This underscores the need for us to move with resolve and speed to establish the mechanisms necessary to prevent a re-occurrence." By the end of next June the AU hopes to have the 15,000 ASF troops ready to work with United Nations peacekeepers in field operations under UN command. By 2010, the AU wants the force to be able to be deployed on its own, according to officials. AFP Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
