Eritrean Gendarmerie (Italian Empire)

The Eritrean Gendarmerie (Italian: Gendarmeria Eritrea) is the militarized police force of Eritrea. Its duties include crime fighting, traffic control, maintaining public safety, and counter-terrorism. It is under the jurisdiction of the Minister of Interior of the Eritrean Autonomous Social Republic.

The Eritrean Gendarmerie operates throughout Eritrea. There are no local or "municipal" police departments in Eritrea. The General Command of the Eritrean Gendarmerie is located in Asmara. In an emergency, the Eritrean Gendarmerie can be reached by dialing 112 from any telephone in Eritrea. Eritrean Gendarmes carry the title of Zaptié, after the indigenous units attached to the Italian Royal Carabinieers.

Name

In Eritrea, due to the numerous ethnic groups, the official name of the Eritrean Gendarmerie is provided only in Italian language, and it is "Gendarmeria Eritrea" ; the Italian name is reproduced on vehicles and buildings. Despite the Italian name being the official one, the official name of the Eritrean Gendarmerie is also translated in local languages.

Mission

The Eritrean Gendarmerie is responsible for public security, maintaining public order, securing public events and rallies, dismantling suspicious objects and explosives, riot and crowd control, law enforcement, crime fighting, detective work, covert operations against drug networks, investigating suspects, road traffic control, handling civilian complaints, handling youth violence, educational campaigns.

Organization

The Eritrean Gendarmerie is a mixed draftee-professional force, with some 35,000 Gendarmes. The Eritrean Gendarmerie are divided into the following central subdivisions:

• General Command
• International Relations Office;
• Legal Counsel Office;
• Immigration Control Command;
• Audit & Accounts Office;
• Economic Crimes Command;
• Public Complaints Office;
• Disciplinary Court;
• Service Administration Command;
• Healthcare and Safety Command;
• Controller Office;
• Spokesman Office;
• Personnel Command;
• Investigation & Intelligence Command: manages the criminal police duties on nation-wide level and manages the Central Criminal Division;
• Logistic Support Command;
• Organization & Planning Command;
• Traffic Police Command;
• Patrol and Security Command: oversees the operational units.

Regional Commands

The Eritrean Gendarmerie is subivided into six Regional Commands, one for each of the new Regions:

• Maekel (headquartered in Asmara);
• Anseba (headquartered in Cheren);
• Gash-Barka (headquartered in Barentù);
• Debub (headquartered in Mendefera);
• Semienawi Keyih Bahri (headquartered in Massaua);
• Debubawi Keyih Bahri (headquartered in Assab).
• Regional Commands have the operational responsibility to coordinate subordinate units according general orders issued by the General Command.

Operational forces

• Border Guard: it is the combat arm of the police and mainly serves in unquiet areas. The Border Police has both professional officers and conscripts;
• Special Security Unit: it is the police elite counter terror hostage rescue unit.
• Regional Mobile Units: they are the on-call counter-terror and riot police units in each district. They have gained a reputation of being the most elite force on call and ready at any time, although charged by many of using excess brutality.

Eritrean Border Guard

The Eritrean Border Guard (Italian: Guardia Eritrea di Confine) is the border security branch of the Eritrean Gendarmerie. While its main task is securing Eritrean's borders, it has also been deployed in assisting both the Eritrean National Republican Guard and the Italian National Republican Army, as well as for counter-terrorism and law enforcement operations.
The Eritrean Border Guard is composed of professional officers on payroll and field policemen redirected from the conscription. All border Gendarmes receive combat training and in addition are also trained for counter-terrorism, riot control and police work. Excellent Gendarmes can specialize in some profession and receive special training to become snipers, buggie-drivers, dog operators, bomb squad, etc. Because of their combat training, border Gendarmes are employed in unique areas, where there are greater risks for riots, violence and unrest.
The Eritrean Border Guard deploys some special units on its own:

• Special Counterterrorism Unit: the Special Counterterrorism Unit (Unità Speciale Antiterrorismo, U.S.A.T.) is the undercover special operations unit attached to the Eritrean Border Guard, but directly subordinate to the intelligence. A secret unit, its personnel do not wear uniforms and are not allowed to disclose their membership of the organization. The U.S.A.T. are often expected to carry out complex missions with little or no preparation, often involving daylight raids in volatile areas outside Eritrean borders.
• Tactical Rapid Deployment Unit;
• Infiltrations Interception Unit.

Central Criminal Division

The Central Criminal Division (Italian: Divisione Centrale Anticrimine, Di.C.A.C.) is an Eritrean crime-fighting umbrella organization within the Eritrean Gendarmerie. It is tasked with investigating national crimes and corruption. and it is subdivided into five Units:

• Fraud Investigations Unit;
• International Crime Investigations Unit: deals with cross-straits organized crime;
• Financial Investigations Unit;
• Locating Stolen Vehicles Unit;
• Prisons Investigations Unit.

Related voices

• Eritrean National Republican Guard (R.S.I.)