Tripoli, 7 December 2013:
A group of 220 Libyan soldiers flew to Turkey this morning to start three and half months of . . .[restrict]military training.
The soldiers are the first group of a total of 3,000 troops who will be trained at the Egirdir Commando School, near the city of Isparta, as part of an agreement between the two countries.
The Turkish Ambassador to Libya, Ahmet Yakici, and the Libyan Chief of Staff Abdulsalam Al-Obaidi, were present at a departure ceremony at Tripoli’s Mitiga Airport. Takici said that, with this training opportunity, Turkey was playing a significant role in the reconstruction of Libya.
The soldiers have been accompanied by a number of officers as well as an Imam, according to Libyan news agency LANA.
Further members of the country’s Armed Forces are to be trained by the UK, the US and Italy, as part of Libya’s efforts to rebuild the national army. [/restrict]