Somalia, neighbors eye joint mechanism to counter cross-border threats

CAIRO, Feb 1 (KUNA) -- Leaders of Somalia, Djibouti, Kenya and Ethiopia agreed on Wednesday on forming a joint security mechanism to deal with different kinds of cross-border threats.
The agreement was announced at the final statement of their Summit in Mogadishu today.
The leaders agreed to jointly plan and organize a robust operational campaign at the frontline states level, of search and destroy Al-Shabaab on multiple frontlines aiming at the key strategic Al-Shabaab strongholds across south and central Somalia.
They decided to establish a joint operations mechanism that coordinates the operations' holistic capabilities and multipliers to deter and defeat the enemy.
The acknowledged the federal government of Somalia's request for full commitment and support of the neighboring troop-contributing countries to significantly participate in the current Somali National Army (SNA) forces-led operations across the sectors, to defeat and destroy the terrorist group.
They welcomed the request by the Somali Government to obtain both lethal and non-lethal support to equip the newly-generated national army units and to enhance the firepower capabilities of current army's operational units. (end) rg.mmj.ibi