The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has announced that Heads of States of its member states have agreed to raise $2.4 billion to establish a standby counter-terrorism force to address security threats within the sub-region.
Ambassador Abdel-Fatau Musah, Commissioner of Political Affairs, Peace, and Security of ECOWAS, disclosed this during the opening of a three-day consultative meeting of commandants from the three designated ECOWAS Training Centres of Excellence on Tuesday.
Musah emphasized that the counter-terrorism force would function as a rapid reaction unit, comprising a battalion capable of confronting terrorist strongholds that have been proliferating in the region.
The three centers of excellence for the ECOWAS counter-terrorism force are: the National Defence College in Nigeria, the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre in Ghana, and the Ecole de Maintien de la Paix Alioune Blondin Beye in Mali.
Musah further disclosed that out of the agreed $2.5 billion for the counter-terrorism standby force, the Heads of States of the bloc’s member states have directed member states to contribute $1 billion to commence the operation of the standby force.
He also explained that ministers of defence and finance from the sub-region would be meeting to fashion out funding modalities for the counter-terrorism force.
