Pretoria - More than 5 400 troops from other African countries are expected to arrive in South Africa from today for exercise Amani Africa II.
The troops will participate in the African Union (AU) field training exercise Amani Africa II - a Kiswahili phrase meaning “peace in Africa”.
The training is set to take place at the SA Army Combat Training Centre (CTC) in the Northern Cape from 19 October to 7 November.
The exercise is conducted by the AU with the intent of evaluating the state of readiness of the African Standby Force (ASF) and its Rapid Deployment Capability (RDC) towards the achievement of full operational capability by December 2015.
The troops are expected to move into South Africa through various ports of entry including the Lohathla border in the Northern Cape, the Nakop border to Namibia, the Ramatlabama border to Botswana, Oshoek border to Swaziland and Maseru Bridge border to Lesotho with Upington Airport the nearest fly-in port of entry.
Their movements will be escorted by SANDF military police supported by the South African Police Service and the relevant traffic police of the different cities and towns such as Upington, Olifantshoek, Kuruman and Kathu.
In the North West, the affected towns will be Mahikeng, Stella, Vryburg, Koster and Potchefstroom, among others, while in Limpopo, towns affected include Musina and Makhado. In Mpumalanga, affected towns will include Malelane, Nelspruit, Belfast and Ermelo and others.
The training cycle started in 2012 and its conclusion this year will also see the long-awaited ASF become a reality.
The five African regional organisations including SADC as the main force, with Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), East Africa Standby Force (EASF) and Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) will contribute troops and equipment for Amani Africa II.
The major contributing countries towards the exercise are Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland Zambia and Zimbabwe. Other contributing countries will be Algeria, Burundi, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda and Uganda. - SAnews.gov.za
