FRANCE CONDUCS ECCAS TRAINING IN GABON; ECCAS

C O N F I D E N T I A L LIBREVILLE 000174 SIPDIS SIPDIS KINSHASA ALSO FOR BRAZZAVILLE ADDIS FOR USAU E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/25/2017 TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR MCAP GB CF CG BY CT RW CM, FR, KPKO SUBJECT: FRANCE CONDUCS ECCAS TRAINING IN GABON; ECCAS REQUESTS ACOTA RAINING REF: A. 2006 YAOUNDE 0519 ¶B. 200 YAOUNDE 01885 Classified By: Ambassador Barrie alkley for reasons 1.4 b and d 1.(U) This messae contains an action request in para 6. ¶2. (U) he first military training under the auspices of te Economic Community of Central African States (CCAS in English, CEEAC in French) has just conclued in Gabon. This initial training of ECCAS unis that will eventually be part of the African Unon standby force for Central Africa (FOMAC) was onducted by elements of the French 6eme BIMA (the 800-man French battalion based in Libreville). The two-week program (for 35 commandos from Gabon, Cngo-Brazzaville, Burundi and Cameroon) involved perating and surviving in a deep-forest environmnt. The next BIMA training session for CEEAC wil take place in August (with troops from Chad, the Central African Republic, Angola and Rwanda). ¶3. (U) According to General Guy Pierre Garcia, the military chief of staff for the standby brigade (whose HQ are in Libreville),ECCAS currently has pledges from member countries for 63% of FOMAC's personnel and materiel needs. These pledges include: -- 3 infantry battalions (1 from Angola, 1 from DRC and a mixed battalion with units from Burundi, CAR, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon; -- 1 armored battalion from Cameroon; -- 1 battalion support unit from Congo-B; -- 110 military observers; -- 2 squads of "gendarmerie mobile" (Gabon, Congo-B, Cameroon); -- 55 civilian police officers (Gabon, Congo-B, Cameroon); -- 2 Ilyushin 76 aircraft from Angola; -- 3 C-130s (Gabon, Cameroon, Chad); -- 1 Boeing troop transport plane from DRC ("not yet available"); -- 3 ground support helicopters (Angola). ¶4. (U) General Garcia believes that the ECCAS countries have the will, but not the means, to make the regional brigade a real force (the AU mandate calls for it to be fully operational by 2010). The critical needs are in the areas of interoperability, training and logistical support when deployment occurs. ¶5. (C) ECCAS believes the latest training being offered by the French BIMA in Libreville to be "a step in the right direction." General Garcia says that past RECAMP exercises with the French have been useful, but have not been tailored directly to ECCAS/FOMAC needs. In a meeting with the Ambassador, Garcia said that ECCAS believes American assistance can be better tailored to ECCAS needs and requested ACOTA training for HQ staff and field units. If ACOTA responds positively, General Garcia said that ECCAS is ready to draw up a two-year training plan with ACOTA personnel. ¶6. (U) General Garcia said that the ECCAS brigade is in urgent need of communications support similar to the package that the US provided ECOWAS (so that member capitals can communicate with the brigade HQ in Libreville and with each other). ECCAS also seeks US support to establish and stock four humanitarian depots in the field (to include tents, blankets, cooking pots, etc, not food). ¶7. (C) ACTION REQUEST: Reftels are joint action requests from Embassies Yaounde, Libreville, Ndjamena, Brazzaville, Malabo, and Bangui recommending US support for the ECCAS standby force. Given the latest request made directly by General Garcia, Libreville asks that ACOTA (perhaps in conjunction with EUCOM) send a team to Libreville to meet with ECCAS to determine precisely what assistance might be appropriate and possible. ¶8. (C) COMMENT: The recent BIMA training of the ECCAS brigade was a modest but important step. It involved only 35 commandos, but it was significant symbolically in signaling the start of this regional military cooperation effort. It also indicated a French desire to have some part at least in the ECCAS brigade's future. FYI: There is a French liaison officer stationed at ECCAS HQ. Jean Marc Simon (the French ambassador in Libreville, who has been in residence for almost four years) recently requested accreditation to ECCAS and last month presented his credentials (becoming apparently the only ambassador in town to take this unusual step and be also accredited to ECCAS). The European Union has provided 4 million euros over three years to help develop ECCAS capacity to protect peace and security in the region. WALKLEY