Army Receives from Jordan 30 APCs, 12 Gun Motor Carriages
Jordan on Monday delivered armored personnel carriers and gun motor carriages to the Lebanese army as part of “continuous cooperation” with Lebanon in the face of “the threat of terrorism.”
The vehicles were handed over at a ceremony held at the Beirut Naval Base, in the presence of Major General Nayel al-Raqqad, head of the strategic planning department of the Jordanian Armed Forces.
The military donation included “thirty M113 armored personnel carriers and twelve 155mm howitzer motor carriages,” according to a Lebanese army statement.
During a visit by Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq to Amman on February 12, King Abdullah II of Jordan had expressed readiness to aid and train the Lebanese army.
“We are one... Jordan is ready to offer the Lebanese army all its needs of arms and military equipment, including free training at all our bases,” sources quoted the king as saying in comments published in al-Mustaqbal newspaper.
Representing Army chief General Jean Qahwaji at Monday's ceremony, Brig. Gen. Manuel Kerjian hailed “the military cooperation between the two brotherly armies and the continuous cooperation to confront the common threats and challenges, especially the threat of terrorism.”
In December 2013, Saudi Arabia donated three billion dollars for the purchase of arms from France for the benefit of the Lebanese army. It offered another $1 billion donation in August 2014 in the wake of deadly border battles between the army and Syria-based jihadist groups.
Y.R.
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