Prime Minister Philemon Yang inaugurated the Continental Logistics Base of the African Union Standby Force (ASF) located in Bonapriso, Douala, January 5, 2018.

The neighbourhood of Bonapriso in the economic capital, which hosts the Continental Logistics Base of the African Union Standby Force (AUSF), bustled Friday. Prime Minister Philemon Yang inaugurated the structure to host AU logistics in the presence of a multitude of authorities from Cameroon and the continent.

The site was given to the African Union (AU) by the Cameroonian government for deployment of AUSF. It consists of structures located near the Douala Air Base which ceded ten hectares of the national military facility.

The facilities include 32 administrative offices, a meeting room, a squadron building, a consortium of operational means and many other military equipment and materials. According to the Prime Minister, “this infrastructure will support African troops waiting for rapid deployment in a specific area in times of crisis.” Advanced technology facilities should allow the African Union to be less dependent on the United Nations (UN) and other international organisations in its humanitarian and peacekeeping operations, he pointed out.

On his part, the African Union Commissioner for Peace and Security, Ambassador Smail Chergui, was grateful with Cameroon for being in support of Africa Union projects one of them being the Logistics Base of the African Union Standby Force. He announced the imminent arrival of material to equip the facility.

The Minister Delegate at the Presidency in charge of Defence, Joseph Beti Assomo, presented the two sides of the base: the one constructed on 15 hectares of land for storage of materials and the other on 10 hectares for coordination and administration.

It was in 2015 that the Cameroonian government and the African Union signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which, among others, provided for land and state facilities for creation of the ASF logistics base. Under the leadership of the African Union Peace and Security Council, the AUSF’s mission is to maintain peace on the continent.