AU Delegation Verifies EASF's Full Operational Capability

A delegation from Peace Support Operations Department (PSOD) of the African Union (AU) visited the EASF Secretariat in Karen, Nairobi on 24th February 2017. The aim of the visit was to confirm EASF's readiness for deployment now that the

regional peace keeper has been put on Standby by AU from January to June 2017.

The AU delegation of three was headed by Assistant Commissioner of Police Crowd Chirenje, Senior Civilian Planning and Coordination Officer Dr Jide Okeke and  Training, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer Brig. Robert Kabage.

The Director of EASF, Amb. Issimail Chanfi, informed the degelation that all the necessary processes and mechanisms to deploy and sustain the force, including the additional capability of relieving the deployed forces within the mandated time lines are in place. According to the laid down procedures, any deployment on the continent has to be authorized by the AU.

The head of delegation expressed his confidence that EASF is now in a position to effectively deploy in any part of Africa. The delegation was keen on understanding the gaps which EASF could be facing. This would be of significant value in laying down fundamental approaches to addressing such gaps and thus make the regional peace keeper more efficient.