KIGALI - Regional chiefs of intelligence are meeting in Kigali to carry out the latest continental threat assessment. This is an exercise carried out periodically by member States of the Committee of Intelligence and Security Services of Africa (CISSA), a forum established in 2004 to help address the continent’s security concerns.

Delegates from six regional countries; Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, Djibouti and the host Rwanda, will deliberate on security concerns of individual countries as well as those affecting the region and come up with concrete intelligence and possible interventions.

The CISSA East African forum is currently chaired by Rwanda.
Sources say the outcome of the Kigali meeting will be transmitted for discussion when the complete body next meets in Angola mid this year.

Among the threats against regional security already identified, includes the genocide ideology, piracy in the Indian Ocean, child and arms trafficking, money laundering and cattle rustling among others.

Rebels of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), the Lord’s Resistance Army, and Islamic militia in Somalia, were some of the regional armed groups that pose a serious threat to security in the region.

During the last CISSA meeting held in South Africa last year, xenophobia was described as one of the new "emerging threats”.

The stance was caused by widespread attacks against foreign nationals in many cities in South-Africa, most of the victims were immigrant workers from neighbouring States.

The idea of CISSA was born at a meeting of some twenty intelligence and security chiefs which took place in Luanda, Angola in April, 2004. This meeting convened to deliberate on problems posed to Africa by terrorism and mercenary activities on the continent.

The meeting decided to create a forum of heads of intelligence and security services of Africa in order to establish a pan-continental approach to tackling Africa’s security concerns.
The ongoing Eastern African Region’s meeting is one of the forums of CISSA.

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