On Thursday, November 23, 2023, the verification team of the African Union Commission arrived at the administrative base in Jijel. The purpose of their visit was to verify the capabilities committed to by Algeria and the regional base in the North Africa Region, as well as to attend the exercise activities. The team consists of six representatives from the Continental Planning Element of the Commission, representing all components, and a representative from the United Nations Office at the African Union. The visit will last for three days, and a similar team had previously visited the components in the Arab Republic of Egypt as well as the headquarters of the Secretariat and the planning element in Tripoli at the beginning of November.
The team attended the opening ceremony and then accompanied Mr. Chief of the Utilization and Supply Division in observing the exercise proceedings. The team leader praised the good planning and organization of the mission components, the decisions made by the leaders, and the available resources at the base.
Next, the team inspected the facilities of the base, where they commended the level of equipment, material resources, and human capabilities present at the base. One of the participating members from the United Nations mentioned that the base’s equipment is on par with the United Nations base in Brindisi , Italy.
Then the team visited the headquarters of the Signal Unit, which is part of the commitments of the Algerian state to the regional base. They were given a visual presentation of the unit, its components, and equipment on the ground, and they received detailed explanations from the unit’s crews about their respective tasks. It is worth mentioning that the unit’s commander and deputy participated in the Command Centers Exercise in Jijel, where they established communications, created specific maps, and made decisions regarding communication organization in the exercise. The verification team listened to this decision and then visited the unit’s headquarters, where they observed the decision being implemented on the ground. The team leader and members expressed their great satisfaction with the capabilities and expertise possessed by this unit. They found that the exercise plans were aligned with the on-ground capabilities and considered the unit to be fully prepared, indicating that the region has high capabilities and resources.
The team expressed their utmost satisfaction with this visit and the previous visit conducted by another team. They confirmed that they would present their report, based on what they observed, to the President of the African Union Commission. This report will accurately reflect the reality of the operational readiness of the region.
