|
CAIRO, Feb. 11-- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said Egypt is ready to host a special African summit to discuss setting up an African force to fight terrorism on the continent. The Egyptian president made the remarks during a televised speech on Sunday during the opening ceremony of the 33rd African Union (AU) Summit in Addis Ababa. During a closed session, African leaders proposed to convene a special African summit to discuss a counter-terrorism African force, al-Sisi said. "I affirm Egypt is ready to host this special African summit stemming from its responsibility and belief in the importance of this proposed force to achieve peace and security in Africa," al-Sisi said. Three main reasons were behind the proposal of the establishment of African anti-terrorism force, according to Hesham Halby, an Egyptian military expert at Nasser Military Academy. First of all, some African countries still suffer the deteriorations of civil wars and don't have the military capabilities to uproot terrorism, said Halby. Secondly, the mobility among the borders between the African countries facilitated the spread of the cross-border terrorism, like what is happening in the Sahel and Sahara countries that would impact Egypt and Sudan, he said. The third reason is generated by that fact that the African countries are currently witnessing large flows of investment and development momentum that require secured stability, he added. | 
