A ten-day "Peace Support Operations (PSO) Foundation Course” opens today at the Rwanda Peace Academy Training facility in Musanze District.The course has attracted 23 civilian personnel from eight Eastern Africa Standby Force (EASF) member states: Burundi, Djibouti, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda, according to a statement by Col Jill Rutaremara, the Director of the academy."The aim of the course is to introduce civilian participants to the methods and concepts of contemporary Peace Support Operations, in preparation for peace support operations in the region and on the entire African continent,” reads the statement.The course is expected to enhance the awareness of the role of the civilian dimension in peace support operations and consequently regional capacity to conduct peace operations."The training of civilian personnel is in line with the mission of the Academy which is to conduct research, develop and deliver internationally recognised professional training courses and educational programmes in order to equip the military, police and civilian personnel with the competences and knowledge required to meet Africa’s present and future complex peace and security challenges.”