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By Paul Ames
Brussels, January 16, 2010 – European Union defense experts are looking
at proposals for an ESDP mission to offer support to the coast guards of
nations around the Horn of Africa region in an effort to strengthen the
battle against Somali pirates. The plan under consideration would
involve a civilian mission to develop the coast guard forces of Yemen,
Djibouti and Kenya as well as Somalia itself, to provide greater local
involvement in efforts to tackle the pirates, who increased attacks on
shipping during 2009 despite the beefed up international naval presence
in the region.
Somalia’s transitional federal government has been asking for help to
set up a coast guard since an international conference last April, but
the situation is complicated because much of the county’s coast is
controlled by breakaway authorities in the territories of Somaliland and
Puntland.
If the plan is adopted, it would complement the EUNAVFOR Atalanta naval
mission launched by the EU in December 2008 and the planned EU training
mission for Somali security forces, details of which are currently being
finalized within the EU’s Political and Security Committee. The PSC is
expected to discuss the coast guard capacity building proposal on 15
January, when Somalia will feature strongly at the ambassadors’ regular
meeting. EUNAVFOR's Operational Commander, Rear Admiral Peter Hudson,
will attend the meeting.
EUTRA Somalia
Planning is well underway for the training mission for Somali forces,
which has been given the name EUTRA Somalia. However, the plans have yet
to be approved due to continued concerns, notably from the Netherlands
and Britain, about how the loyalty of soldiers to the Somali government
can be guaranteed after they return to their units in the strife-torn
East African nation.
The EU is seeking cooperation from other international players,
including the United Nations, the African Union and the United States,
to ensure the trained Somali security forces are paid regular salaries
and to establish an effective international mechanism to channel funding
for the military personal concerned.
The transitional federal government in Somalia signed an agreement with
the auditing giant PricewaterhouseCoopers in July 2009 to ensure
international aid does not go astray and potential supporters of the
training mission are examining if that agreement can help ensure
transparency in financial support to the security forces.
The EU has been examining the possible training mission for Somali
forces since last summer, seeking to build on an existing French mission
run out of Djibouti. The idea is to create core units that can
strengthen the government in its battle with Islamist militants and
build security in a country devastated by two decades of civil strife.
However, many nations are concerned that the troops could switch sides
in the fast-moving and multifaceted Somali conflict.
Under the current EU proposal, the training mission will be based in
Uganda, since Somalia itself is considered too dangerous to host foreign
educators. Uganda – which is a leading contributor to the African Union
peacekeeping mission in Somalia - is already working to train Somali
troops with support from the United States. The EU mission is expected
to work with the Ugandans, but provide more specialized training.
Spanish Colonel Ricardo González Elul, who is heading the planning of
the mission, led a fact-finding delegation to Uganda in mid-December
2009 to look into the logistics of setting up the headquarters of the
mission, which is expected to involve the deployment of around 100
European experts to train up to 2,000 Somali troops. The mission will
likely have a liaison office in Brussels and a representation in
Nairobi.
Source: Europolitics, Wednesday 13 January 2010
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