UNIPATH STAFF
Egypt has built a counterterrorism center to coordinate military action and law enforcement with dozens of its African neighbors. The 14,000-square-meter center in Cairo, which Egypt financed with $5.6 million, will serve the 29-member Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD).
Egyptian Maj. Gen. Hamdi Bakhit said the center will focus on officer training and intelligence coordination to uproot violent extremism. Egypt promised to sponsor training for military personnel from CEN-SAD members and hold regional counterterrorism military exercises.
“Breaking up and destroying terrorist networks is not easy. But this is the main task of the center, which will be performed by a permanent operation room,” Gen. Hamdi said.
CEN-SAD, the second-largest regional organization in Africa after the African Union, includes nations from the Red Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. It was founded in Tripoli, Libya, in 1998 with the aim of preventing, managing and resolving conflicts.
Instability, civil war and terrorism in Libya — Egypt’s western neighbor — have been among the country’s top security concerns. At a CEN-SAD meeting in June 2018, government ministers called for increased collaboration in fighting terrorism in the Sahel-Sahara region. Sources: Egypt Today, Al-Ahram