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West Africa: Ecowas Defence Chiefs Endorse Standby Force
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This Day (Lagos)
26 March 2008
Posted to the web 26 March 2008
Lagos
The just-concluded 21st meeting of the ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff held in Banjul, Gambia, has endorsed the ECOWAS Standby Force (ESF).
This was contained in a statement from the ECOWAS Commission issued yesterday in Abuja and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
It said the meeting agreed on a number of resolutions, which included a follow-up comprehensive study that would enable the region to determine the strategic air and sealift deficit.
The deficit, according to the statement, will be met in the deployment of the ESF. It said the study would evaluate the existing assets of member-states to enable the region determine the additional requirements for providing the most cost-effective and efficient force.
A Joint Study Team comprising staff of the ECOWAS Commission, Officers from the Armed Forces of Nigeria and its National Defence College had concluded an initial study based on Terms of Reference (TOR).
The terms of refrence, among other things, recognised the United Nations standard table of equipment as the minimum for the ESF.
It also focused on developing a strategic capability for a four-phased movement of troops and equipment either from the troop-contributing countries to the theatre of operations or from logistic depots and bases to a mission area in four stages.
It said the 6,500-strong ESF, comprising a revised task force of 2,773 and a Main Brigade of 3,727, should be operational by 2010 in compliance with the African Union (AU) timetable for the operationalisation of the regional standby force arrangement.
It said the meeting also recommended that ECOWAS should send a delegation to Guinea Bissau to understand the challenges facing its military and the requirements for conducting a successful reform of the country's security sector.
There was also an update on the African Standby Force Command Post Exercise scheduled for March 2010, which is to be supported by EURO RECAMP, a European Union French initiative, the statement said.
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It said the meeting also updated the process for the creation of an ECOWAS Emergency Response Team (EERT), which would provide the region with the capability to respond to complex emergencies and the ECOWAS Conflict Prevention Framework.
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