ECOWAS To Deploy Troops To Guinea Bissau, Mali

?The ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff (CCDS)?will meet on Monday to consider modalities for the deployment of troops to Guinea Bissau and Mali.

According to a statement from the commission on Friday in Abuja, the move?is part of?its response to the increased security challenges in the region.

Those who will participate at the?one-day meeting include?the heads of the Gendarmerie and police forces from Burkina Faso and Nigeria.

Others?are the Special Representative of the President of the ECOWAS Commission in Guinea Bissau and the Force Commander of the ECOWAS Mission to Guinea Bissau (ECOMIB).

The meeting is expected to?update preparations for the deployment of troops in Guinea Bissau and?Mali.

The meeting will also be briefed on the current status of the separatist rebellion in the North of Mali.
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It?is expected to consider issues relating to?ECOWAS Mission to Mali and the units proposed for the reconstituted force of 3,000 troops.

In addition, the Force Commander of the ECOMIB is expected to make presentations to the committee on the force.

The Chiefs of Defence Staff?are also expected to participate in the Nigeria Armed Forces military equipment exhibition that will?hold in Kaduna on Tuesday.

The ECOWAS?Heads of State authorised?the deployment of ECOWAS Mission to both countries in May. (NAN)