By Ashraf Abdul-Wahab.
Tripoli, 7 October 2013:
The first 30 of an order of 350 Humvee vehicles for the Libyan army is due . . .[restrict]to arrive later this month, sources in Washington have told the Libya Herald.
The specifications of the Humvees (HMMVE – high mobility multi-purpose vehicle) different to the earlier delivery during the summer of 24 Humvees (not 200 as reported). Of these, 10 were dispatched to the Frontier Guards in the south. The remaining 14 were stored in Tripoli’s Salahadeen district.
The latest 350 were ordered by former Defence Minister Osama Juwaili during the Al-Kib administration. It is reported that the price has been significantly discounted by the Americans.
The 10 Humvees handed to the Frontier Guards are said to have been sent south because they were too obvious to steal: no one else was using them in the area and they would be instantly recognisable if stolen.
However, some of 14 stored in Salahadeen were reported last month to have been stolen along with other equipment during the summer and driven across the border to militants in Algeria. [/restrict]