At launch of course on land mines clearing: Police scribe urges first batch of trainees to be responsible, discipline….

The DGSN scribe made the appeal, Monday April 8. Police Commissioner Baya made appeal on behalf of the Delegate General for National Security, Martin Mbarga Nguele, whom he presented at the ceremony.

The ceremony to launch the course took place at the Amphitheatre 250 of the National Advanced Police School in Yaounde. 

The Internal Security Officer of the French Embassy in Yaounde, Colonel Christian Broudin, as well as other senior officials of the police corps attended the event.

Some 25 officers who had previously benefitted from training in clearing land mines in Cameroon and other parts of the world, are part of the first batch of trainees. The four-week training will end on May 2.

The capacity building is part of a three-year training bagged by the French Embassy in Cameroon. 

The French Embassy in Cameroon, diplomatic service officials said, is in charge of funding, training and equipment to help clear land mines and explosives in the country. Each batch shall constitute of 25 trainees.

Police Commissioner Baya said the goal is to ensure officers efficiently perform their duties. Baya hailed the cooperation between Cameroon and France, adding that the training is in line with the ambition of DGSN.

Land mines and other explosives, the DGSN scribe said, have become a threat in most parts of the country. 

In this light, he said there is an urgent need for forces of law and order to learn how to deal with mines and explosives that have become a threat to security.

Enter French Embassy Internal Security Officer

The Internal Security Officer at the French Embassy in Cameroon, Colonel Christian Broudin, situated the training within the context of security challenges in Far North, North West, South West and some borders communities.

Colonel Broudin decried that several military personnel and civilians have been killed in mine explosions.

He stated that thanks to the capacity building, trainees will be able to “deal directly on objects found be it ammunition abandoned” and “locally fabricated bombs”.

He also said: “We have also noticed some mini-explosions in major cities like Yaounde and Douala. All this will constitute the training”.

The French official also remarked that trainees will become experts in identifying suspicious bags, Improvised Explosives Devices and neutralize them.

France, he assured, “will provide them with a number of relatively voluminous materials”.  

This month, he declared, “we will be receiving new materials such as disrupters, bomb jammer that will prevent signals to enable a bomb to detonate. Through this equipment, they will be able to act in complete safety on objects they find of the field”.   

At the end of the three-year project, the officers, Colonel Broudin also said, will be deployed to various parts of the country to serve the population. 

It was revealed that 11 demining units shall be setup in all 10 regions, with two in Kouseri and Maroua regions. 

According to one of the trainees, Second Grade Police Constable Boris Njie, “we are going to do more of experience with professionals from other countries. We know actually some of these explosives. We have seen them during our missions. We have tried to deal with them and I believe that with the experience we will gain we will do more in future”.