South Africa will send a 100-member military team to train security forces in the Comores ahead of the June presidential elections in the Muslim-majority archipelago, a poll official said on Monday.
”About 100 men working under the aegis of the African Union will arrive in Moroni on April 25 to train and organise the Comores forces,” Mohammed Kassim Zahahe from the national independent electoral commission told Agence France-Presse.
A total of 35 people have signed up to contest the June 10 and 24 polls but the national poll body will publish a final list of candidates at the end of the month.
Zahahe said the Arab League, of which Comores is a member, could send a similar force to train local soldiers before the ballot, but added that a final decision had not been taken.
South Africa, the continent’s biggest economy, often plays a leading role in resolving conflicts or maintaining stability in Africa either through mediation or peacekeeping and military training missions. — AFP
