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| Africa Subsaharan |
| Liberia: Military Official Worries Terrorism Could Spill into Liberia |
| 2018-11-21 |
| [All Africa] The acting Sergeant Major for Armed Forces Liberia says he is concerned about faceless myrmidons in neighboring countries spilling into his homeland. Speaking in an exclusive interview with VOA, Command Sgt. Maj. Karmoh Duke Freeman said the "worrisome" terrorism developments outside Liberia must be deterred with additional forces. "We asked our partners to get involved immediately so that we'll curtail the situation," Freeman said, "because we need more than what we have at our border points." The Liberian army of about 2,000 was built "from scratch," Freeman explained, after the Second Liberian Civil War ended in 2003. The U.N. peacekeeping mission that helped develop Liberia's military formally withdrew earlier this year, potentially leaving the nation vulnerable to threats. Freeman recommended routine military patrols around the border, along with recruitment expansions for military, police and immigration officers. Liberia also receives support from the United States and African countries such as Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Ghana and Benin. "We're there to help coach, teach, assist, advise and let them know we have their back. We're not going away. We're going to be there even in crisis," U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Michael Stone, the commanding general for the Michigan National Guard's military police, told a small group of news hounds Friday at the Pentagon. Michigan National Guard has partnered with Liberian forces since 2009, as part of the National Guard's State Partnership Program. The state has sent over military police to conduct specialized training, as well as provided engineers for construction. National Guardsmen teach critical military skills like marksmanship, Stone said, but they also go a step further, providing Liberian forces with the knowledge of how to transport a unit to a range and run a range properly. |
| Posted by:Fred |