ECOWAS defense chiefs to discuss Boko Haram, Ebola printable version 8 September 2014 The defense chiefs of the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will meet in Ghanaian capital Accra on Tuesday to discuss the Ebola outbreak and the deadly Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria. The ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defense Staff will hold its 34th ordinary session between September 9 and 11 in Accra, Ghana to review the general security situation in the region and determine adequate responses, the ECOWAS Commission said in a statement released in Abuja. The two-day meeting will discuss the security situation in Nigerias northeast, where insurgents have seized many towns in recent weeks. Boko Haram militants have already overrun the towns of Dikwa, Gamboru Ngala, Gwoza and Bama in Borno State. Maiduguri, the densely populated provincial capital of Borno and the states most populous city, appears to be the militants primary objective. Boko Haram also now controls Buni Yadi and Bara in the neighboring Yobe State. It also reportedly controls eight towns in Adamawa State, which has a population of about 2.5 million. Boko Harams elusive leader, Abubakar Shekau, recently declared all territories under Boko Haram control to be part of an Islamic caliphate in northern Nigeria. ECOWAS, a regional bloc founded in 1975, seeks to promote economic, social and cultural integration among its 15 member states. Ghana currently chairs the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government. -Ebola threat- During the two-day meeting, defense chiefs will hear briefings on the Ebola outbreak, which the regional Mediation and Security Council characterized as a security threat during its last meeting in March. As of September 5, Ebola – a contagious disease for which there is no known treatment or cure – had claimed 2,105 lives in West Africa. The World Health Organization has described Ebola as one of the most virulent viruses in the world. The tropical fever, which first appeared in 1976 in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, can be transmitted to humans from wild animals. It also reportedly spreads through contact with the body fluids of infected persons or of those who have died of the disease. ECOWAS defense chiefs will also consider a status report on the ECOWAS Standby Force and receive updates on the new Peace Support Operation Division and the operationalization of the Maritime Model Zone E. They are also set to review the mandate of the ECOWAS Mission in Guinea Bissau. 8 September 2014 Anadolu Agency
Posted on: Tue, 09 Sep 2014 11:26:11 +0000
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