Foreign Correspondence

[Amaunet]

Move: Military leaders from West, North Africa meet US commanders on terrorism fight

Countermove: Zambia, South Africa inaugurate joint Defense Committee.



Military Leaders from West, North Africa Meet US Commanders on Terrorism Fight
Alex Belida
Washington
22 Mar 2004, 19:19 UTC


Senior North and West African military leaders are gathering in Germany for unprecedented talks with top U.S. commanders on cooperation in the global war on terrorism and other issues.
The first-ever North Africa, Pan-Sahel Chiefs of Defense meeting is taking place in Stuttgart, Germany, headquarters of the U.S. military's European Command, which oversees American military activities in most of Africa.

According to a spokesperson for the European Command, the participants include senior military officials from Algeria, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Senegal and Tunisia. The U.S. side is led by General Charles Wald, deputy commander of the European Command and a frequent visitor to Africa.

The talks, scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, are to focus on military cooperation in the global war on terrorism.

Speaking to journalists earlier this month, General Wald said specific topics would include intelligence-sharing and the ability of forces to operate together effectively.

Some covert operations have already taken place. These have been centered on efforts to eliminate a group of terrorists active in the Algeria-Mali border area. The alleged terrorists, affiliated with the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, have been led by Saifi Ammari, a former Algerian soldier nicknamed "the Para."

The group suffered what U.S. military officials have described as a serious blow after it was effectively driven out of the Algeria-Mali border area, across Niger and into Chad. There, government troops, aided by U.S. aerial surveillance and other intelligence information, killed about 40 of the suspected terrorist fighters.

Troops in Mali and Mauritania, meanwhile, have just undergone special U.S. sponsored and organized counter-terrorist training with forces in Chad and Niger scheduled to receive similar training later this year. A similar training program is being considered for North African countries.


http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=B2BD5184-5847-4EFC-9F19C978419306AF




Zambia, South Africa Joint Defence Committee Hailed

The Times of Zambia (Ndola)

March 23, 2004
Posted to the web March 23, 2004

Times Reporter


MINISTRY of Defence Permanent Secretary Joel Chitafu has assured the South African government that the Zambian Government cherishes the joint committee on defence co-operation.

Mr Chitafu said this yesterday when he officially opened the inaugural meeting of South Africa-Zambia joint defence committee meeting at Mulungushi International Conference Centre in Lusaka.


"The Government of the Republic of Zambia totally salutes the idea of having such an agreement on defence co-operation for our countries," said Mr Chitafu who is co-chairman of the committee.

He said the joint defence committee was a culmination of the processes that had been underway between South Africa and Zambia defence forces since South Africa attained independence.

He said it was a firm foundation necessary for maintaining lasting peace and security between the two countries.

He said that the joint agreement would foster development in areas such as combined military training in peace keeping operations, undertaking exchange programmes of military personnel , promotion of sport and cultural links.

And South African secretary of defence January Masilela said although the agreement was signed in 2002, two years had elapsed before the legal framework was operational.

"It is importance for this agreement to work for the benefit of our two countries. The purpose of this meeting is therefore to see to it that the terms of this defence co-operation agreement are implemented," he said.

Mr Masilela said that although the legal framework had not been in operation, the two countries had continued to co-operate and share ideas within the regional Inter-State Defence and Security Committee (ISDSC).

He added that it was important for the two countries to have serious and deliberate intentions to implement the agreement because they both had a common destiny.


http://allafrica.com/stories/200403230885.html