The United Kingdom has announced that about 40 personnel will soon arrive Nigeria to train troops fighting Boko Haram.
A statement by the Press and Public Affairs Officer of the British High Commission, Joe Abuku said: “More than 35 personnel from the Second Battalion, The Royal Anglian Regiment (2 R ANGLIAN), will be shortly deployed to deliver infantry training to Nigerian military personnel preparing to tackle the extremist group in the north of the country.
“The 2 R ANGLIAN, based in Cottesmore, Rutland, provided support to the Armed Forces Nigeria throughout 2015, which included the deployment of Short Term Training Teams, and support to smaller training tasks to assist the resident British Military Advisory and Training Team – which has grown in size over the last year.
“Around 130 UK military personnel were deployed to Nigeria on a wide range of training tasks last year.
“This included training in infantry skills, civil-military affairs, media operations, command and leadership, IED-awareness, and support to Nigerian military training schools and establishments.
“Almost 1,000 Nigerian military personnel have benefited from training to prepare them for counter-insurgency operations in northeast Nigeria, and the work by 2 R ANGLIAN, known as The Poachers, is now well-recognized across the AFN.
“The UK also supports a Nigerian intelligence and analysis cell focused on the northeast and based in Abuja, and nearly 30 UK Armed Forces personnel are deployed in Nigeria on an enduring basis in training and advisory roles.”
The statement said the latest assistance was in line with the pledge of the UK Defence Secretary, Michael Fallon, when he visited Nigeria in December 2015.
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