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Central African army chiefs to meet in Gabon over regional security

Xinhua, March 11, 2016 Adjust font size:

Army chiefs from 11 member states of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) will meet in Gabon's capital Libreville on Sunday over regional security, an official source said Thursday.

The army chiefs will examine defense and security mechanisms in the Central Africa region during the meeting of the Central Africa Peace and Security Council, a statement from the regional body said.

They will in particular examine an ECCAS report on joint military training of the African Standby Force -- the continent's peacekeeping force -- which was organized between October and November 2015 in Ethiopia and Mozambique.

They will also finalize plans to set up a regional logistics base for the Multinational Force of Central Africa, a non-permanent peacekeeping force of troops from member states.

Gabon's army chief, Roger Bibaye Itandas, who is the current chairman of the ECCAS Defense and Security Commission, said Wednesday the security challenges facing Central Africa in the last two decades included governance crises, proliferation of small arms and light weapons, fragility of the security sectors, terrorism, massive movement of the population and refugees, as well as poverty.

According to him, a response to these security challenges lies in increased cooperation within the ECCAS member states through strengthening regional integration institutions.

The headquarters of ECCAS is situated in Libreville. Endit