US urges African defence forces to work together

The US government has urged the military in Africa to work together if they are to succeed in countering a “complex” enemy in this age.

Speaking during the closing ceremony of a 10-day joint military training—Exercise Africa Endeavour—sponsored by the US-Africa Command on Thursday at Arakani Battalion in Lusaka, the exercise commander, Brigadier General Joseph Martin said the enemy is very complex and that no single nation can work independently.

Exercise Africa Endeavour is an annual communications training event which focuses on interoperability and information-sharing among African partners.

“The communications techniques taught throughout the exercise aid in developing the strategic communications capabilities of the African Union, regional economic communities and other contributing countries. These capabilities are valuable in the conduct of peacekeeping support, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations,” said Martin.

He added: “The objective of this military exercise is to enhance multinational response to threats faced by Africa by coordinating reliable communication system that transcends language barriers …to increase stability and security for all nations.”

Malawi Defence Force (MDF) described the training as very enriching.

“It will enable us as MDF to easily fit in any international mission that we are assigned in. Not only are we improving our information sharing capacity, we are also building relations with other countries to remove mistrust and build unity in the region,” said Brigadier General White John Malota.

The exercise has trained 300 communications specialists and observers. It also included a public affairs workshop.

Apart from Malawi and the host Zambia, other countries that participated in the training are Angola, Belgium, Botswana, Cameroon, Canada, Egypt, Libya, Seychelles, Sweden, the Netherlands and the US.

Other organisations that participated are African Union, Nato and European Union.