English
Kinyarwanda
TWENTY EIGHT Police officers from four regional countries including Rwanda, yesterday started a one month Formed Police Unit (FPU) Training of Trainers course at the Peace Support Training Centre situated at the Police Training School in Gishari, Rwamagana District.
Other officers taking part in the course are from Uganda, Ethiopia and Kenya.
This is the second intake of its kind to be conducted at the centre dubbed the ‘Regional Centre of Excellence.’ It is organized and conducted in partnership with the Eastern Africa Standby Force (EASF) Police component.
Formed Police Units in peacekeeping among others things, support in humanitarian assistance, crowd control and escort VIPs
During the 30-days exercise, trainees will be taken through key peacekeeping such as crowd dispersal, rules of engagement, anti-riot drills, communications, weapon and marksmanship.
The Inspector General of Police Emmanuel K. Gasana, who presided over the official launch of the exercise, observed that Police institutions in EASF are mandated to “maintain homeland peace and security in the region.”
“It is increasingly becoming clear that we should be ready to intervene for our brothers and sisters in cases of emergencies and conflicts and disasters,” IGP Gasana said.
He urged participants to make good use of the training for the good of their forces and the people of Africa.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Kahsay Gebre, the head of the Police component in EASF said the course is meant to enable participants acquire knowledge that will help them prepare their colleagues in their respective countries for peacekeeping duties.
The regional standby force, he noted, recognizes the substantive and operational roles played by the police component in bringing about peace and security in the region.
“The organization of this training and your attendance is part of ensuring that you are facilitated towards our commitment in operationalisation and strengthening of the police aspect in peace and security operation,” Kahsay said.
“FPUs are bestowed with numerous high risk tasks like protection of mission staff and property, laying roadblocks and checkpoints, crowd control guarding of vital installations. Such tasks require observance of self and instilled discipline,” he noted.
In line with objective four of EASF strategic plan 2010 to 2015, the police component is mandated to build capacity in the region by training 720 Individual Police Officers (IPOs) and six FPUs.
