The Austrian Armed Forces has embarked on a capacity-building exercise for its East African counterparts.
The Austrian Armed Forces will focus on sustainable weapons and ammunition logistics training, a statement from the Austrian embassy in Kenya said.
“A new training course began on October 1, 2024,” the embassy stated.
The embassy said the ultimate objective of the project is to eradicate the illicit proliferation of small arms and light weapons and their ammunition and to prevent unexpected explosions in ammunition storage sites.
“Most criminal acts are committed by illegal arms. Therefore, controlling small arms and ammunition is extremely important to fight crime. Austria supports the efforts of RECSA and other institutions to control arms. Arms control is one of our foreign policy priorities,” said Ambassador Christian Fellner.
For years, Austria has been supporting capacity building in the area of stockpiling of weapons and ammunition.
The project is a sustainable regional activity that is designed to build capacities in the area of stockpiling of weapons and ammunition, and this is a key thing in controlling weapons and ammunition.
Up to now, more than 469 students, 42 trainers, and 13 senior trainers have gotten intensive instruction from experts in the field.
Thus, a specific part of the Nairobi Protocol is put into practice, namely “improved knowledge through training on weapons and ammunition best practices.”
Those trained have included military, police, and wildlife service officers from the Regional Centre on Small Arms (RECSA) region, namely Kenya, Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, the Seychelles, DRC, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, and others.