Africa must ensure its own security: France

Paris – France has said it is up to African leaders to guarantee people’s security in the continent.

Heading a two-day Africa summit on peace and security, French President Francois Hollande Friday said it was up to African leaders to guarantee people’s security in the continent, Xinhua reported.

“A new era begins in which Africa should monitor by itself its de! stiny and to do so it should ensure by itself its security,” French Pre! sident Francois Hollande said while heading a two-day France-Africa summit on peace and security.

He pointed the “necessity to prepare African forces to enable them to face all the threats” of terrorism, drug, human and arms trafficking and piracy.

Hollande also proposed a new military partnership whose priorities consisted of training African forces and offering them essential equipment and intelligence services in a bid to protect African civilians.

Calling on his African partners to create “a rapid reaction force under the helm of the African Union”, Hollande said, ” France is ready to support this force by providing military officers and training of 20,000 African soldiers per year.”

Refusing to be “the gendarme of Africa,” France gave the green light for its forces to intervene in the Central African Republic (CAR) to stop the sectarian bloodshed in the country after the UN Security Council authorised Thursday the use of force in the countr! y.