Ethiopia, Djibouti agree to combat anti-peace forces along border

Addis Ababa, Dec 24 (IANS) The security institutions of Ethiopia and Djibouti have agreed to establish a joint task force to combat anti-peace forces operating along their common border area.

Ethiopia's National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) and the Security Documentation Service of the Republic of Djibouti signed an agreement to establish the joint task force in charge of exterminating anti-peace forces operating along their common border area, according to a press statement released by the NISS on Monday.

The agreement came after NISS Director General Redwan Hussien held a discussion with the visiting delegation from Djibouti's Security Documentation Service, led by Director Hassen Seid, on a wide range of security matters of common concern.

Following the discussion, the parties agreed to elevate their cooperation in security, intelligence, and related fields to a higher level, the statement noted, Xinhua news agency reported.

The two sides also agreed to strengthen their cooperation to curb cross-border crimes, especially human trafficking and smuggling of weapons, as well as prevent illegal immigrants.

The NISS indicated that a discussion has also been held to address the security challenges observed in Ethiopia's export and import trade through the port of Djibouti.

Last month, security specialists of the continent had converged in Kenya's capital of Nairobi to seek solutions to the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in Africa.

The forum brought together representatives from the 15 member states of the Regional Centre on Small Arms (RECSA), and United Nations officials to review ways to curb the illicit flow of weapons in the region.

The RECSA's member states are Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania.

Executive Secretary at RECSA Jean Pierre Betindji had said that the proliferation of weapons is a transnational issue requiring a unified response from securities agencies of affected countries.

"The menace can be controlled through improved information sharing among countries as well as enhanced capacities to monitor and detect the crime," Betindji said.

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