The southern African region was on track with its contribution to a planned continental military standby force, a South African general said on Tuesday.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) had met the deadline of June 30 for the first phase of preparations, Brigadier General Les Rudman told a Center for International Political Studies seminar in Pretoria on behalf of the SADC.

An interim planning core for the SADC brigade was in place and preparing to hand over to a permanent structure by December, as member countries have pledged over 6,000 troops and a peace support doctrine has been completed.

"We are extremely excited about where we are going," Rudman said, "We are proud of our achievements as a region."

He said a logistical support system for the brigade has been approved, and a financial management system designed. A memorandum of understanding for member states has been finalized, and the region has held its first combined military exercise.

Preparations should be sufficiently advanced in about two or three months for the brigade to start stipulating its requirements to donors, Rudman said.

The brigade would be one of five, representing different regions of the continent, making up the envisaged African Standby Force.

The force would fall under the African Union's peace and security council -- a political organ -- and it would be financed from a special Peace Fund.

It would comprise different battalions based in their countries of origin, ready for rapid deployment for an array of missions, including observation, monitoring and peace support.

The force would be able to intervene in a member state under certain "grave" circumstances such as genocide or gross human rights violations -- or at the country's request. There could also be conflict prevention deployments or humanitarian assistance missions.

The force's deployment could be mandated by the African Union or the United Nations Security Council, preferably the latter, Rudman said, adding "if the mandate comes from the UN, it will also be responsible for the funding."

Source: Xinhua