By Libya Herald Staff.
Tripoli, 30 March 2014:
Nearly 300 army recruits will now be joining the Libyan Army after graduating in Turkey last week.
Almost one third of the 440 recruits selected for training dropped out of the training, Turkish Embassy official, Tufan Hobek, told the Libya Herald. “One of the reasons for this was that some recruits found the training too challenging,” he said.
The carefully-selected recruits trained in a number of areas, including martial arts, and how to respond to different situations encountered during land and field fighting.
They also received instruction under a programme that touched on moral and religious guidance, as well as a cultural and national awareness. This was conducted under the supervision of the Libyan Army, through its human development department, according to the media centre of the Chief of Staff.
More Libyan army recruits would be trained in Turkey in the future, Hobek said. The second batch of recruits will head to Ankara and Isparta once they have completed the vetting processes. “We also have 51 military cadets registered from other military units, including the Navy and the Air Force,” he added.
The Ministry of Defence was also looking at opening a training centre in Tajoura for in-country training for more Libyan Army recruits, Hobek added.
There have also been talks relating to possible future collaboration between the two countries. “One of the topics discussed with Libyan authorities and businessmen from the private sector in Istanbul was the possibility of establishing a military hospital in Libya one day,” Hobek said.
The initiative of training new army recruits abroad was established by the former prime minister, Ali Zeidan. The project aims to train up to 3,000 Libyan soldiers. Another batch of recruits are currently preparing to go to the UK for training. [/restrict]
