BNW

B N W: Biafra Nigeria World News

Last Updated: Monday, December 13th, 2004 HOME | Previous Page Peace-keeping: ECOWAS defence chiefs seek more powers   By Chris Agbambu and Onyekachi Eze, Abuja   Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Defence and Security Commission (DSC) has called for the strengthening of the United Nations Operations in Cote d’Ivoire (UNOCI) to enable it respond effectively to security breaches in the country. It stressed at the end of a two-day meeting in Cotonou, Benin Republic at the weekend that the “robust rules of engagement” of the UNOCI mandate should be upgraded to include the authority to use force to prevent armed belligerents from entering the zone of confidence. The meeting advocated the deployment of an aviation unit to facilitate UNOCI operations and recommended that the ECOWAS secretariat should liaise with its partners to continue the DSC march into the future with the ECOWAS standby force concept, which vision and strategy it approved at its ninth meeting in June in Abuja. The DSC met to review the security situation in the region, where it expressed concern over the recent deterioration of security in Cote d’Ivoire, leading to the evacuation of several foreign nationals. It expressed concern over the proliferation of armed robbery in the region, and pledged to adapt strategies to curb the menace. The meeting was attended by chiefs of defence staff of ECOWAS member states. It received briefing on the just-concluded 10-day RECAMP IV exercise, which took place in Cotonou and Ouidah. RECAMP IV is a French initiative to enhance Africa’s peacekeeping capabilities. It was briefed on the security situation in the region by ECOWAS Director of Military Affairs General Charles Okae and by UNOCI Deputy Force Commander Brigadier General Abdul Hafiz. Others who briefed the meeting were United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) Sector Commander Brigadier General L.N. Yusuf and UNAMSIL Force Commander Major General Sajjad Akram. Copyright� 2004. All Rights Reserved. Independent Newspapers Limited Block5, Plot 7D, Wempco Road, Ogba, P.M.B. 21777, Ikeja, Lagos State, Nigeria. www.independentng.com e-mail: [email protected] Designed By Powered By DNet.

	BNW News
Voice of Biafra | Biafra World | Biafra Online | Biafra Web | MASSOB | Biafra Forum | BLM | Biafra Consortium
	© 2001 BNW BiafraNigeriaWorld  Privacy Policy ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Powered by ACENetwork ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	Axiom PSI Yam Festival Series, Iri Ji Nd'Igbo the Kola-Nut Series,Nigeria Masterweb