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Nigeria has received supplies of weapons and equipment from the United States that are part of a US $12.5-million aid package for training of five army battalions for peacekeeping operations in Sierra Leone, a local newspaper reported on Wednesday.
“Among the hardware and equipment are uniforms and other organizational clothing, individual kits such as load bearing tools, kelvar helmets, ponchos, canteens, entrenching kits, compasses and new AKM rifles,” the privately-owned Lagos newspaper, ‘The Guardian’, reported.
It said other equipment to be shared between two of the five battalions include 60 mm mortars, machine guns and light tactical trucks for moving troops and equipment. The supplies were delivered to the 26 Motorised Infantry Battalion in the northwestern city of Sokoto and the 195th Infantry Battalion in the southwestern city of Ibadan, the newspaper said.
In a similar development, Britain and the United States are together helping to modernise and reform Nigeria’s police force to enable it effectively check the rising wave of violent crime in the country, ‘The Guardian’ also reported, citing several meetings by British and US officials with representatives of the Presidency and Ministry of Police Affairs.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
