The latter was acknowledged in a 2017 independent expert report commissioned by the AU. Countries have not committed the necessary resources, and there is little coordination between the AU and its regional economic communities. Political problems also prevent the ASF from getting off the ground.

After lengthy discussions about African peace support operations, the AU decided in 2019 to integrateВ ACIRC into the ASF framework. In the end, ACIRC too, was never deployed. ACIRC was set up in 2013 as a temporary rapid intervention force until the ASF was ready. For much of its existence, the force has faced a seemingly competing initiative by volunteerВ countries вЂ“ the African Capacity for Immediate Response to Crisis (ACIRC). Several obstacles stand in the ASFвЂ™s way. Instead, ad hoc troop coalitions have become the norm in Africa. The intention is to help the AU Peace and Security Council discharge its responsibilities relating to peace support missions.ДЄfter more than a decade of investment and development, the AU declared the ASF ready for rapid deployment in 2016. It is coordinated by the five regional economic communities with the aim of being ready for rapid deployment at short notice. The ASF originated in 2003 as a multidisciplinary standby mechanism comprising soldiers, civilians and police in their countries of origin. This raises questions about the relevance and viability of the ASF. They donвЂ™t follow the mandating processes, deployment timelines and the six conflict and mission scenarios. None of these deployments was in line with the AUвЂ™s African Standby Force (ASF) as it was initially conceived. Other similar arrangements include the Joint Force of the Group of Five for the Sahel, the Multinational Joint Task Force against Boko Haram in the Lake Chad Basin, and the AU Regional Task Force Against the LordвЂ™s Resistance Army in Uganda. The African Union (AU) endorsed the SADC Mission in Mozambique, but only after it was deployed. In 2021, Rwanda and Southern African Development Community (SADC) states sent two separate missions to northern Mozambique to fight the insurgency there.

This is not the first ad hoc coalition of troops deployed in crisis-affected African countries. In April, seven East African Community countries agreed to establish a regional military force to restore stability in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where violence by militia groups is ongoing.

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