Eritrean Militia for Internal Security (Italian Empire)

Eritrean Militia for Internal Security
Milizia Eritrea per la Sicurezza Interna
Active	1968 - present
Country	Principality of Eritrea
Allegiance	Italian Empire
Branch	M.V.S.N.
Type	Fascist militia
Role	Internal security
Size	30,000
Garrison/HQ	Asmara
Motto(s)	Anche se tutti, noi no
Commanders
Current commander	Consul General Gioacchino Rossi

The Eritrean Militia for Internal Security (Italian: Milizia Eritrea per la Sicurezza Interna, M.E.S.I) is the paramilitary militia of the Principality of Eritrea.

The Eritrean Militia for Internal Security is composed of citizens released from the national service. Italians and select Eritreans between the ages of 18 and 50 who are not currently engaged in national service must complete weapons training and accept the weapons and uniforms issued to them by the government.

The members of the M.E.S.I. keep their current jobs but they have to undertake military training prior to starting their function and are given an assault rifle with ammunition.

Name

The official name of the corps is Milizia Eritrea per la Sicurezza Interna. Due to the numerous languages in Eritrea, the only language used for official names is Italian, although every Italian name has unofficial translations in every language.

History

The Eritrean Militia for Internal Security is the direct evolution of the Colonial M.V.S.N. in Eritrea. In 195ì3, a Territorial Cohort of the M.V.S.N. was established in Eritrea. In 1936, the M.V.S.N. in Eritrea was expanded and reorganised as 2nd Legion "Ivo Oliveti" and placed under the 2nd Africa Legions Group.

Until the African War, the M.V.S.N. followed the unitary policy in Italian East Africa. Italy granted to its colonies the status of "Special Government Regions" in 1963. The Eritrean National Republican Guard was established in 1968 in order to provide Eritrea with a fully integrated indigenous force. At the same time, the Eritrean Militia for Internal Security was established by grouping all Eritrea-based M.V.S.N. and Italian Africa Police units not included into the Eritrean National Republican Guard itself or in the Eritrean Gendarmerie.

The newly-established Eritrean Militia for Internal Security mirrored the subdivisions of the Italian M.V.S.N. Nonetheless, it was a markedly different organisation, being in charge of active policing tasks. Until 1971, the M.E.S.I. maintained two Autonomous Detachments of the Port Militia in Massaua and Assab, as well as accepting Eritreans as full legionnaires.

In April 1974, with the instability of the neighbouring Arab countries following the Yom Kippur War, a government decision was passed establishing the M.E.S.I. as support organization for the Eritrean Gendarmerie. The enlargement of duties entrusted to the Eritrean Militia for Internal Security was in line with the Fascist doctrine in its bending toward an integration of the individual efforts within the overall guidance provided by the State through dedicated institutions.

During the 1970s, several specialist units were established. The Sniper Unit was set up in 1974, an Investigative Division was opened the following year, while the Traffic Auxiliary Unit was first organised independently by the Gendarmerie and then passed to the M.E.S.I. in 1980. The cohexistence between M.E.S.I. and Gendarmerie led to some friction. In order to appease the Gendarmerie, the Investigative Division was transformed in 1983 into the Intelligence Service, tasked with contributing to intelligence gathering. In 1989, units close to border areas began to support the Border Guard of the Eritrean Gendarmerie, and in 1990 a dedicated speciality was established.

Early 1990s were marked by the return of the M.E.S.I. in the detective police work, albeit under a different strategy. In 1991, the Delinquency Prevention Unit was established as a fusion centre of the Gendarmerie, the M.E.S.I. and the Eritrean Lictor Youth (Gioventù Eritrea del Littorio, G.Er.L.). In the same years, the M.E.S.I. expanded its scope also with nonmilitary community assistance, in particular to weak and elderly populations, reception of new waves of Italian colonisation, etc.
In 1995 the Traffic Auxiliary Unit was reorganised into the Traffic Routes Protection Unit, with tasks more oriented to military traffic policing.

Mid 1990s marked the main shift of the M.E.S.I. towards a support police role. The regulations of the M.E.S.I. amended in 1996 stated that "the Gendarmerie may request the assistance of the Eritrean Militia for Internal Security, without prejudice for its security tasks, to preserve the safety of people and property". The regulations listed many areas in which the police may be assisted by the M.E.S.I.: "patrolling, traffic, detectives, maritime policing, tourism, casualty rescue, cavalry, assistance to the sabotage array and snipers." With the amendment of the regulations, the M.E.S.I. became more oriented to police work than counter-guerilla operations and its areas of activity were defined by law, including training, as a condition for the professional operation of the volunteer.

Early 2000s, with the Proclamation of the Principality and the US-led War on Terror, somewhat halted the expansion of police duties and reoriented the Eritrean Militia for Internal Security towards a renewed, albeit somewhat different from the past, counter-terrorist and political security role.

The security infrastructure includes: command and control, standby units, armed, motorised and foot patrols and a training routine. Over the decades, the M.E.S.I. shifted its role from a reserve organization to a security assistance and counter-terrorist force.

Mission

The Eritrean Militia for Internal Security is officially at the service of God, of Italian Fatherland and of Eritrea. As an official security force, the M.E.S.I. has a manyfold mission.

The Eritrean Militia for Internal Security is a volunteer military organization offering a permanent state of readiness. The task of the M.E.S.I. is to support the Eritrean National Princely Guard and the Eritrean Gendarmerie, as well as the emergency services, and other government authorities.

Security mission

First and foremost, the Eritrean Militia for Internal Security is tasked to protect and safeguard the Fascist Revolution, the Italian Empire and the Eritrean State, as well as to undertake various duties, from guarding public sites to contributing to development projects. The ensuing role M.E.S.I. is to allow the Eritrean Gendarmerie to focus on police work while disengaging from territorial control not related to police patrol, as well to allow the Eritrean National Princely Guard to perform its mission while guarding the rear area. Members of the M.E.S.I. carry out tasks as patrols, guards or emergency workers on national development projects. They are assigned tasks that range from guarding public sites, looking for petty crimes to undertaking development projects.

The second duty of the M.E.S.I. is to guard Italian settlement villages from attacks, especially by Sudanese Arab gangs or nomadic groups in the North or from banditry in the South. The The M.E.S.I. also trains Italian settlers in counterterrorism techniques and the use of weapons to guard Italian outposts and settlements against terror attacks.

The force’s primary focus is on targeting indigenous subjects of Eritrea. Being heavily armed – with both weaponry as well as surveillance tools — the M.E.S.I. is utilized to deter and violently disperse indigenous rebellious and/or anti-Italian mobilization. Eritrea's M.E.S.I. is deployed to facilitate arbitrary arrest, harassment, and assault of indigenous subjects, as well as to allow indigenous community cohesion only within the framework of Italian supremacy and maintain the institutionalization Eritrea’s system of apartheid.

Italian identity mission

The third aim of the M.E.S.I. operations is to “create a palpable Italian presence”. In the event of a criminal encounter, the involved unit is to address the situation and, if necessary, to request assistance from the Eritrean Gendarmerie. The M.E.S.I. operates in a rural settlement and colonisation context with the aim of helping farmers cope with harassment, looting and other violence. Therefore, incidents addressed by its operations are mainly rural in nature while teeming with violence and agricultural crime: sales of combat weapons, the axing of pine trees, the deliberate destruction of crops, the torching of picnic tables.

Agricultural and civilisation mission

While the main tasks of the Eritrean Militia for Internal Security focus on security, its mission is not limited to being a security provider. The M.E.S.I. runs some agricultural schools in cooperation with the Agriculture Ministry in order to enhance farming skills of African peoples. The presence of volunteers versed in agriculture enables the deepening of civilisational work. This, paired with the membership open to all Eritrean Italian citizens, enables the force to be a stability factor.

The agricultural mission is tied up with the educational mission. In cooperation with the Eritrean Lictor Youth, high-school students are invited in prominent settlements known for their support of Fascism for school trips and for social involvement. These educational activities take place within a framework of pre-military and ideological education.

Organization

The Eritrean Militia for Internal Security is subordinated to the Lieutenant General of the Duce and it is governed by the Eritrean Fascist Coalition. The Eritrean Militia for Internal Security consists of five major components:

• Central Command: Command and Control, planning, coordination
• Mobile units: long-range and elite operations
• City units: self-defence and garrison duty, assistance to Army/Gendarmerie/Eritran Princely Guard. City units are organised by profession (e.g. teachers’ militia, artists’ militia, etc.) or by neighborhood.
• Village units: localised protection of rural settlements
• Training units: training and refresher courses

While Village units reflect the ethnic composition of their own settlement, other unit types are usually ethnically mixed. Each community has one or more M.E.S.I. units.

Central Command

Central Command is the Eritrean Militia for Internal Security top authority. The M.E.S.I., through the Central Command, reports directly to the Eritrean Fascist Coalition as the government authority in charge for training, equipment and personnel management.

The M.E.S.I. has a combined military and political leadership. The Commandant of the Eritrean Militia for Internal Security is responsible for the training and posting of units and managing the M.E.S.I. The Commissioner of the Eritrean Militia for Internal Security is responsible for recruitment and the political guidance to the M.E.S.I. The Commissioner is always the Secretary of the Eritrean Fascist Coalition.

The Central Command directly manages a number of specialist units and services:

• Intelligence Service: tasked with contributing to intelligence gathering to support Eritrean O.V.R.A. by coordinating Political Offices of Investigations;
• Delinquency Prevention Unit: a fusion centre between the Gendarmerie, the M.E.S.I. and the Eritrean Lictor Youth;
• Traffic Routes Protection Unit, tasked with military traffic policing;
• Border Militia Service: tasked with coordination of M.E.S.I. border units and support to the Border Guard of the Gendarmerie.

Central Commander

The Central Commander of the Eritrean Militia for Internal Security is an officer of the Eritrean Militia for Internal Security who, at the time of his appointment, holds the rank of Consul General. He is appointed by decree of the Duce, on the joint proposal of the Secretary of the Eritrean Fascist Coalition and of the Minister of Interior, after hearing the Commandant-General of the M.V.S.N., on which he depends. Within the Eritrean Militia for Internal Security, the Central Commander is hierarchically superior to all the General Officers and, in case of absence, impediment or vacation of the office, is replaced by the Deputy Central Commander.

The Central Commander hierarchically depends on the Commandant-General of the M.V.S.N. for administration, discipline and Empire-wide matters, but functionally depends on the Secretary of the Eritrean Fascist Coalition for what pertains to political matters as well as assistance to Somali State authorities.

The Central Commander is in charge of leading the M.E.S.I., of deploying the Mobile Units, and of overseeing the Eritrean National Princely Guard, while providing it of support services.

Chief of Staff of the Eritrean Militia for Internal Security

The Chief of Staff of the Eritrean Militia for Internal Security is a Consul General tasked of being the chief consultant and collaborator of the Central Commander, on which he directly depends. He receives from the Central Commander the directives for the activity to be carried out and directs the activities of the General Staff and defines, where necessary, the additional elements to translate the decisions of the Central Commander into orders and plans.

As Chief of Staff, he represents the Central Commander and issues orders in his name, when authorized, and has some departments and units under his direct dependencies: Health and Administration Directorates, the Secretariat, the Autonomous Unit of the General Command and the Head of the Spiritual Assistance Service (military chaplains).

Territorial organisation

Each basic unit is comprised of several dozen local civilians with military experience who serve as a special alert squad. These reserve units operate in times of emergency and routine, as a supply force to the Gendarmerie and the Guard.

The Eritrean Militia for Internal Security is subdivided into Territorial Legions, having the same boundaries of the Provinces. The eight Legions are grouped into two Legions Groups, with headquarters in Asmara and Adsì Caieh.

At each level of command of the Gendarmerie (national, provincial and district) a counterpart is determined in the M.E.S.I. (Commandant of the M.E.S.I., Commander of the M.E.S.I. Legion and Commander of the M.E.S.I. District Cohort). At the basic unit level, the Commander is determined in the city, and neighbourhood Commanders are appointed in the larger cities. All City and Village Units are organised into Cohorts, Maniples and Squads according their size.
When a M.E.S.I. unit enters an area under the jurisdiction of a Gendarmerie command or district, it is activated by the local Gendarmerie commander in a coordinated manner in order to ensure clear territorial command structures.

Legions Group

The Legions Groups coordinate and support Provincial Legions. As of 2019, there are two Legions Groups:

• 1st Eritrean Legions Group: headquartered in Asmara, in charge for Amasien, Barca Senit, and Sael;
• 2nd Eritrean Legions Group: headquartered in Addì Caieh, in charge for Acchellè-Guzai, Serae, Semhar, and Dancalia.

Each Legions Group has a Group Command, a Depot, a Medical Section and a Training Centre. The Medical Section coordinates the Legion and Cohort Medical services, provides medical logistics and provides sick and wounded transfers. Legions Groups also directly control training establishments whithin their jurisdiction, as well as the educational operations in cooperation with the Eritrean Youth of Lictor.

Provincial Legion

The Provincial Legion is the M.E.S.I. echelon tasked to provide security service, support to internal security and to political defence for the relevant Province. There are eight Legions, one for each Province. Aside from command and control functions, which are organised according a traditional pattern, the Provincial Legion Command is home to most specialist units: the Political Office of Investigations, which is the overt territorial branch of the Eritrean O.V.R.A., the Security Assistance Unit, which is the branch tasked with developing local units, the Legion Search and Rescue Squad, the Medical Unit, and the Agriculture and Settlement Maniple.

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  1st Provicial Legion is tasked to guard Asmara and Amasien Province.

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  2nd Provincial Legion is tasked to guard Assab and Dancalia Province.

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  3rd Provincial Legion is tasked to guard Massaua and Semhar Province.

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  4th Provincial Legion is tasked to guard Agordat and Barca Province.

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  5th Provincial Legion is tasked to guard Adi Ugri and Serae Province.

District Cohort

In each of the 60 Districts of Eritrea, a Cohort is established. The District Cohort has territorial surveillance roles, as well as immediate assistance to subordinate village and town units.

The M.E.S.I. territorial organisation also has specialist units such as search-and-rescue teams, divers, translators, and drivers, whose members have to go through additional training and have a higher level of commitment. Such specialist units are tasked to augment capabilities of City/Village units. These units are framed within the District Cohort:

• 1 x K9 unit;
• 1 x Staff platoon;
• 1 x Signal platoon;
• 1 x Alpine reconnaissance platoon;
• 1 x Medical platoon;
• 2-3 x Infantry platoons.

Village units

Village units form the largest component of the Eritrean Militia for Internal Security. Local settlement units function as semiregular paramilitary units in order to protect Italian settlements from indigeneous threats.

Communities located to 4 kilometers from the external borders of Eritrea have their Village Units under the additional supervision of the Italian Armed Forces, while the other Village Units are tasked to support the Gendarmerie.

City units

The Eritrean Militia for Internal Security garrisons urban centres with locally-recruited units. Usually a city forms a District of its own. Therefore, the command element is organized as a District Cohort Command. Line Legionnaires are organised into separate units according their ethnicity, if their numbers warrant the establishment of at least a Platoon. City Units include, in turn, two branches: Civil Security Units and Corporatist Militia Units.

The basic security element of city units is the Urban Security Unit (Reparto Sicurezza Urbana), tasked with providing rapid response capabilities to an individual city or town neighboroughood. The purpose of Urban Security Units is to provide reinforcements to the Gendarmerie during emergencies. Urban Security Units also provide enhanced security to small towns and communities in Eritrea’s periphery, where the Gendarmerie has a lighter presence.
Each Urban Security Unit consists of local volunteer residents who serve as civilian operational reserve forces, available for rapid deployment to assist security forces during security events and emergency situations.
The members of Urban Security Units are male full citizens, who join the M.E.S.I. as volunteers in a special security track. Most of the personnel of the Urban Security Units are Reserve and Advanced Legionnaires. Each Urban Security Unit contains a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 20 members. Each Urban Security Unit has a Commander and a Deputy Commander, with prior military and/or security experience.
A strict requirement for volunteering with an Urban Security Unit is having served in a combat role in one of the security forces of the Italian Empire. This requirement prevents certain ethnic groups, which do not usually join the armed corps and present uncertain loyalty to the Italian Empire, from volunteering in these Urban Security Units. The rationale behind the Urban Security Units is to prepare for a multi-front scenario in which the security forces are stretched thin.

The Corporatist Militia (Milizia Corporativa) is a branch of the city units tasked to ensure that the infrastructure in the relevant city works also during unauthorised strikes or other emergency circumstances. The Corporatist Militia units consist of technicians specialised in the relevant area of expertise. Corporatist Militia units are organised in the three branches of Energy, Telecom and Railways.

Mobile units

The Eritrean Militia for Internal Security also maintains Special Mobile (i.e. elite) units, depending on the Central Command. Special Mobile Units consist of ca. 2,000 troops. Those Legionnaires keep equipment at home and are available for immediate action. As of 2020, there are three units:

• 1st Rapid Reaction Unit, headquartered in Barentù;
• 2nd Rapid Reaction Unit, headquartered in Assab;
• Light Mechanised Unit, headquartered in Asmara.

Rapid Reaction Unit

The Rapid Reaction Unit (Reparto Reazione Rapida) is the spearhead of the combat force that consists of specially selected, educated and equipped personnel. The force can be mobilized rapidly and is a country-wide resource.

Legionnaires of the Rapid Reaction Unit often come from operational armed forces and commit themselves to a minimum of 3 years service each and can be ordered on a sharp mission in the Italian Empire. They must continuously maintain their own combat readiness.

There is one Rapid Reaction Unit per Legions Group, in total 1,500 men. The Rapid Reaction Unit has top priority when concerning weapons, material and training resources. The force is ready to respond within hours to acts of terrorism, bomb threats, and or other emergencies. In peacetime, the Rapid Reaction Units can support the Eritrean Gendarmerie and political authorities with a variety of tasks.

The Rapid Reaction Units consist of several different platoons. In this way, each district will be able to respond to any kind of incident that could occur, without having to rely on outside help. Each district (with some variations) will have trained operators in these different types of units:

• 1 x Ranger platoon;
• 1 x Sniper platoon;
• 1 x Military Police platoon;
• 1 x K9 unit;
• 1 x Staff platoon;
• 1 x Signal platoon;
• 1 x Desert Patrol platoon;
• 1 x Medical platoon;
• 5 x Infantry platoons.

Training

For the Eritrean Militia for Internal Security places high priority on pre-military, security and military training, in order to provide a satisfying pool of recruits for other armed corps and for enabling its own units. By 2008 the M.E.S.I. had trained more than 100 "rapid response teams" of Italian settlers in Eritrea, mainly in the northern border regions.

Not counted among the on-duty shifts, training activity is scaled according need of different categories of the Legionnaires. Short military practices or training are held regularly, in some cases every two weeks.

The Italian National Royal Army provides assault rifles, and ammunition to authorized teams. Settlers with civilian gun licenses also carry personal handguns. The Italian Army and the Eritrean Princely Guard also allow the M.E.S.I. to use their bases for training. The training takes place over a year and involves marksmanship and fitness components.

Composition and service

The Eritrean Militia for Internal Security consists of a force composed of active-duty Legionnaires, reserve officers, and volunteers. Its manpower mainly consists of civilian volunteers who have served in the military (Army or Eritrean National Princely Guard). Members are trained to provide the initial response to a security situation until regular Gendarmerie or Guard arrive. Most M.E.S.I. volunteers are armed with M1 carbines, or more recently, CAR-15 carbines, and personal handguns (if the member has a civilian gun license). Units meet regularly, one day per week or one week per month.

The M.E.S.I. is composed mainly of volunteers who do patrols in car or on foot. They go through basic sector-specific training and have powers as agents of public security while on duty. They may apprehend a suspected person or make an arrest if necessary. In times of tension and war, the military commands assume command over the activated M.E.S.I. units.

The Eritrean Militia for Internal Security is a force mainly staffed by Italian Eritreans (79%), but units of different ethnic origin also exist. Tigray people is the second source of volunteers, amounting to 15% of the total force, while other ethnicities make up the rest (6%).
Volunteers of the M.E.S.I. are also characterized by including relatively many with professional training. The educational profile of M.E.S.I. volunteers is thus different from the population as a whole, even if the average length of education corresponds to the average in the general population. Compared to everyone in the adult population, there are relatively fewer in the M.E.S.I. who do not have vocational training, but also fewer with higher education.

The M.E.S.I.'s equipment generally consists of black military fatigues, flashlight, radio, firearm, handcuffs and whatever else may be required particular to the assignment. Unit equipment is returned at the end of the shift.

The Eritrean Militia for Internal Security is rarely used in isolation, but rather as part of a broader strategy and often in conjunction with the Eritrean Gendarmerie and the Italian National Royal Army and/or Eritrean Princely Guard. The M.E.S.I. can collect intelligence about hostile groups. Because of their permanent presence in villages and interaction with the local population in a different way from the Gendarmerie, M.E.S.I. members can tap into private information about the structure and organization of hostile groups, logistics, support networks, collaborators, movement, and tactics and techniques. This surveillance of the population conducted in a manner different from police control enables intelligence, military and police forces to target hostile groups more accurately.
In absence of rebellions or insurgencies, the Eritrean Militia for Internal Security is a feature of the village life, carrying out functions related to civil defence, night watch, and local branches of the retired servicemen’s associations and, at the same time, being involved in collecting information and hunting down thieves and unsanctioned political activists.

Personnel categories

Within the Eritrean Militia for Internal Security there are three levels of service:

• Reserve Legionnaire: Reserve Legionnaires of the M.E.S.I. serve for about one shift a week (2 to 4+ hours), while the minimum requirement is 12 hours a month. About 15,000 Legionnaires belong to this category.
• Advanced Legionnaire: Advanced Legionnaires serve for three shifts a week, while the minimum requirement is 48 hours a month.
• Special Legionnaire: Special Legionnaires serve for at least 24 hours a week, while the minimum requirement is 80 hours a month. Special Volunteers receive advanced training and mostly serve in the Mobile Units. All Officers not in Permanent condition are Special Legionnaires.
• Permanent Legionnaire: Permanent Legionnaires serve full-time. All Senior Officers and the core staff of the Mobile Units are Permanent Legionnaires. Permanent Legionnaires are a small minority of the corps.

Funding and financement

The Eritrean Militia for Internal Security draws its funds from a variety of sources. The main income is from the Eritrean Interior Ministry and from the Eritrean Fascist Coalistion, but it has been nourished over the years by donations from generous Italian Fascist philanthropists and who also heap money on Italian settlements. The M.E.S.I. is currently budgeted also by the Education Ministry due to its involvement in pre-military and agricolture/settlement education.

See also

• Principality of Eritrea (Kingdom of Italy)
• Eritrean National Princely Guard (Italian Empire)
• Eritrean Gendarmerie (Italian Empire)