Amisom military chiefs push for enhanced intelligence sharing

African Union military chiefs meeting in Mogadishu this week have called for enhanced intelligence gathering and sharing to bolster efforts on the war against militant groups in the country.

The meeting which concluded Wednesday emphasized the need for the various actors to efficiently counter terror plots and attacks even as both Amisom and Somali soldiers prepare for handover of security responsibilities.

“Intelligence must be collected and used in a way that ensures operational efficiency without threatening the legitimacy and impartiality necessary for the peace mission to carry out its work effectively,” Amisom Deputy Force Commander Maj-Gen Charles Tai Gituai said.

The Deputy Force Commander cautioned participants on over-reliance on the sheer quantity of information, arguing that information overload may sometimes undermine accurate interpretation of data. “The situation we are in now, is that the question is no longer whether intelligence should be shared, but rather how, when, and to what effect.”

The Director of Operations of the Somali National Army, Gen.  Mohamed Sheikh Madobe and AMISOM’s Chief Military Intelligence Officer Col. Naboth Mwesigwa officiated the closing of the three-day forum.

“Mainly it was about coordination, information sharing, re-tasking, identifying our main objective, our goal and to harmonize gaps that were identified, so that we can get solutions to achieve our main goals,” stated Col. Mwesigwa.

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