Central Africa regional police chiefs discuss strategies to fight new forms of criminality

The fourth special summit of police chiefs to discuss the emerging forms of criminality in the Central Africa region opened on Monday in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) capital.

During the three-day summit, regional police chiefs will discuss strategies to fight against terrorism and cybercrime to enable police officers to be more effective.

"DR Congo is today honoured to host a meeting aimed at harmonizing efforts with other Central African states to come up with methods to effectively fight against terrorism and other emerging crimes that are being witnessed in Africa," said Charles Bisengimana, DR Congo's police chief.

Bisengimana noted that besides terrorism, the region has also witnessed a sharp increase in incidents of cybercrime, human trafficking and destruction of the ecosystem.

He noted that Ugandan rebel groups, Allied Democratic Forces as well as the Lord's Resistance Army, which operated mostly in eastern Congo, constituted the new form of terrorism and were operating like the Al-Shabaab terror group in Somalia.

"We are confronted with a new phenomenon of terrorism that requires police officers to be conversant with the contemporary situation," added Evariste Boshab, DR Congo's Interior Minister.

Boshab further called for adoption of a framework that will allow regional police forces to work beyond their respective borders to track down the new criminals. Enditem