The complexity of conflict and the changing nature of the concept of security has made it necessary for civilians and peacekeepers to cooperate whenever conflicts arise, Col Jill Rutaremara, the director of Rwanda Peace Academy, has said.

Rutaremara was yesterday opening a two-week course on stabilisation and civil military cooperation at the academy in Musanze District.

The course, which brought together 23 participants from Uganda, Somalia, Sudan and Rwanda, seeks to espouse better understanding of how to collaborate and stabilise communities in conflict situations.

Rutarema said the Civil Military Cooperation Course (CIMIC) was significant given the new operational environment and the paradigm shift towards the broader concept of security.

"More than ever before, stabilisation and reconstruction as well as peacekeeping operations have become important issues for the military,” he said

"Cooperation and coordination between the military and civilians, including the Police, has also become more important in peacekeeping missions.”

Rutaremara said CIMIC activities must be integrated in operational planning and that gender dimensions should be integrated as well since all conflicts have a gender dimension.

"CIMIC officers must understand the complexity and specificity of the environment under which they are operating. They must also understand the role and functions of broader variety of other actors so that they facilitate and coordinate the support that the military can provide to other actors in the mission,” he said.

CIMIC officers, Rutaremara added, must also be able to build relations and to empower the civilians to contribute more effectively and efficiently to the implementation of the mission mandate.

The course, funded by the British Peace Support Team, Eastern Africa (BPST-EA), is the second of its kind that regional military officers have participated in.

Maj Jeremy Hayward, the BPSTA-EA project officer, hailed the role of African peacekeepers in stabilisation missions across Africa as well as promising to continue supporting the RPA.

Meanwhile, another course entitled "Understanding Conflict and Conflict Analysis,” was opened at the academy and brought together 35 participants from regional countries.

According to Rutaremara, the course will help participants from various disciplines understand various types of conflicts, their levels and phases and their dynamics including the factors that intensify or inhibit the escalation of conflicts.

He said the course would also help chart ways to find out the root causes and how to analyse them before making attempts to resolve them.

"Without a clear understanding of the conflict, it becomes very difficult to resolve or transform them and yet that should be the essence of conflict and peace studies, Rutaremara said