Kontinentet skal have sin egen lyn-indsatsstyrke, som kan sendes til brændpunkter og klare ærterne – det kunne man også have gjort i Mali, hvis en sådan styrke havde været på plads, lyder det – og afrikanerne klarede i Somalia, hvad USA ikke kunne.
* The African Union spurred into action by French intervention in Mali
* 1.500 soldiers for rapid deployment at any time in the new force
* Troop contributions to the force will be voluntary
* More heavy air lift aircraft needed
JOHANNES-BURG, 31 May 2013 (IRIN): A newly sanctioned African Union (AU) force for quick deployment in conflicts such as in Mali is being promoted as a stop-gap measure ahead of the planned formation of the “rapid deployment capability” (RDC) African Standby Force (ASF).
Unlike the ASF, which will also have policing and civilian duties, the African Immediate Crisis Response Capacity (AICRC) force will have “a strictly military capacity with high reactivity to respond swiftly to emergency situations upon political decisions to intervene in conflict situations within the continent,”
So described by Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, chairperson of the AU Commission, in her recent report to the AU summit in Addis Ababa.
While the AU’s failure to resolve crises in countries like Ivory Coast, Libya and Mali has been a source of embarrassment to the continent-wide body, the AU Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) is widely regarded as a success, with the annual 500 million US dollar running costs bankrolled by international partners.
AMISOM provides “pride” for the AU, according to analysts, as African forces at the cost of significant lives (some estimates say thousands), were able to achieve what a far better equipped US force failed to do in Somalia – bring about an opportunity for peace.
Spurred into action
Læs videre på
http://www.irinnews.org/report/98139/analysis-au-prepares-its-shock-troops
