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The first phase of United States military training of Nigerian soldiers for peacekeeping in Sierra Leone has ended with the graduation of 800 troops that underwent 10 weeks of instruction in the southwestern city of Ibadan, the Voice of America (VOA) reported on Wednesday.
Soldiers of the 195th Motorised Infantry Battalion, expected to join the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) later in January, represent the first of five Nigerian battalions to be trained by the US Army in battlefield tactics, marksmanship, first aid and human rights, US Army Warrant Officer Brian Wilson, was reported as saying.
Tagged “Operation Focus Relief” the training is part of a US $50-million programme covering six battalions from Nigeria, Ghana and a yet to be named third West African country for peacekeeping operations in war-torn Sierra Leone.
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