Ugandan army chief roots for African standby force

Regional security systems are the last chance to rid the continent of security threats, Uganda’s Military Chief has said.Speaking at the closure of the second African Land Forces Summit in Kampala yesterday, Gen. Aronda Nyakairima called on the security forces to remain focused on the continent’s present and future challenges.He cautioned that sustainable peace and security in Africa will only come if militaries are prepared to champion the cause of collective security.“After all history tells us that you can go to war alone, but you can’t build peace alone,” he told 36 military chiefs from different countries in Africa.Nyakairima called for more coordination among the forces, saying that experience has shown that regional states understand their burdens better and hence the need for strengthened regional groupings.The summit was held under the theme; “Strength of an army, for the nation and its people.”Jeje Odongo, Uganda’s State Minister for Defence said that the continent has armies with different historic backgrounds that pose a challenge on why there should be closer cooperation through meetings.During the one week meeting, the chiefs of land forces held series of discussions all aimed at exchanging information on current topics of mutual interest while seeking cooperation on addressing common security challenges.The African Land Forces Summit is a biennial conference which brings together senior U.S army leadership with counterparts from nations in Africa. The US has supported different armies on the continent in helping checking security threats especially through proving training to the African defence forces.

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Ugandan army chief roots for African standby force