Soldiers of Ghana will be deployed in Mali with help of the British Royal Air Force 0302131

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Defence News - Ghana
 
 
Sunday, February 3, 2013, 10:47 AM
 
Soldiers of Ghana will be deployed in Mali with help of the British Royal Air Force.
Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama had a closed-door meeting with United Kingdom's Chief of Defense Staff General Sir David Richards on Saturday in Accra to discuss Mali issue, the state-run Ghana News Agency reported. The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) is waiting for the green light from ECOWAS (Economic Community Of West African States) to send 120 soldiers to the besieged nation of Mali.
     

U.S. Marine Cpl. Richard Hazenburg of 2nd Platoon, Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, instructs Ghanaian soldiers on the M-240G medium machinegun at a jungle warfare school at Achiase, Ghana. (Credit photos U.S. Defense)
     

Currently, Chiefs of the Defence Staff of various ECOWAS countries are attending their monthly review meeting in Mali and are expected to advise ECOWAS on when the Ghanaians will be in Mali.

Colonel Nbawine Atintande, Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Armed Forces, who briefed journalists after the meeting, said the UK military command had promised to provide an aircraft that would airlift about 120 Ghanaian military men, mostly from the 69 Engineers Regiment, to Mali on Feb. 15-16.

The Ghanaian soldiers will provide support services in the form of provision of electricity and construction of camps and fences for security buildings, among others.

He said Ghana and the UK had had long-term training exchange programs and the visit was to invigorate the relations.

Atintande said the Ghana Armed Forces would strengthen their relations with their partners to enable them to execute all their goals in the coming years.