Two hundred and fifty Gambian army officers have left the country for Turkey for training ahead of a UN mission deployment.
The military in a statement Tuesday said the troops on last Friday had a pep-talk with defence minister Sheikh Omar Faye and army chief Yakuba Drammeh.
On Sunday, the soldiers flew out to Turkey in a Turkish military aircraft. They will be in Turkey till December.
“This training arrangement is in fulfilment of a promise made by the Turkish government to train 500 GAF personnel in Turkey. The training package will fulfil part of a series of requirements amongst others that the proposed Gambian Contingent QRF II and QRF III have been scheduled to undergo prior to deployment,” the military said.
The training will prepare the troops for deployment as a Quick Reaction Force (QRF) to a UN mission, the military added.
