Egypt: 28 Sahel-Saharan countries to form counter-terrorism unit

Defence Ministers representing 28 countries of the Sahel-Saharan States community will form a new counter-terrorism unit with its headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, in a bid to further strengthen their security cooperation, in the fight against terrorism.

Egyptian Defense Minister Sedki Sobhi after the meeting said: “We plan to intensify the fight against terrorism by activating the mechanisms already in place to improve the military and security cooperation, especially in terms of exchange of information and intelligence.” According to an Egyptian news website , the agreement of the the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD) comes after a two-day conference held in Egypt’s Red Sea resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh. > 28 Sahel-Saharan Countries to Form Counter-Terrorism Headquarters in Egypt https://t.co/jCNi3xaWN3

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The new counter-terrorism unit will include the sharing of intelligence, joint border controls to combat terrorism, and other measures aimed at curbing trans-border criminal activity.

“We are improving the defense capability and security of member countries through exchanges of experience and comprehensive training programs,” the Egyptian defense chief added.

Another meeting will be held to clarify other details of the counter-terrorism unit and a statute for the unit, Egyptian streets reports.

It further adds that during the two-day conference, Egypt’s President Sisi announced that Egypt would offer 1,000 scholarships for nationals of CEN-SAD to study at Egypt’s military schools.

CEN-SAD is primarily a trade bloc that was established in 1998. This year’s summit is set to be held in Morocco.