Nairobi — Regional defence chiefs are meeting to plan for the training of a joint force that will intervene in conflicts in the eastern African countries.

Eastern Africa - home to some of the deadliest conflicts - is expected to benefit from the joint force, which will create a standby unit for the continent's peace operations.

The meeting, which started in Nairobi on Wednesday, brings together defence chiefs from Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Sudan and Rwanda.

Internal wars

These are countries which are either suffering from internal wars, cross-border conflicts or threats posed by unstable neighbours.

Kenya's Chief of General Staff Jeremiah Kianga has lauded the joint standby force for the region.

Already, Kenya is feeling the pinch of the war in Somalia, where the al-Shabaab militia is fighting to oust President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed's Transitional Federal government.

Kenya is concerned that the Somali crisis could fuel terrorist activities and increase the influx of small arms into the country.

There have also been fears that the insurgent al-Shabaab has penetrated the border to recruit young Kenyans.

However, Defence Minister Mohamed Yusuf Haji yesterday denied knowledge of the matter, and said the government was not taking chances at the Kenya-Somali border.

Apart from the Somalia crisis, eastern African continues to be affected by tensions between Eritrea and Djibouti over a border dispute and the conflict in Darfur which, by UN estimates, has displaced 1.5 million.

The meeting, which ends on Thursday, will determine the number of soldiers each country will contribute to the force, and where the training will take place.

The AU is involved in peacekeeping in Somalia, but out of the 8,000 soldiers it recommended for the operation, only 3,500, from Uganda and Burundi, are currently serving.

According to the AU Peace and Security Council's road map, all African regional standby forces are expected to have an integrated force operational by 2010.