Liberia Pays $1.4M to Ship Donated Military Equipment from Cameroo

Monrovia, Liberia: The Government of Liberia has paid 1.4 million United States dollars to a company in Cameroon to help with the shipment of military equipment. The equipment is worth 20 million United States dollars and was donated to the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) by the African Union.

This was announced by the Chief of Staff of the AFL, Major General Davidson Forleh, at a program held on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, at the Barclay Training Center in Monrovia. The program was held to officially start the work of the First Armored Reconnaissance Battalion and the AFL Signal Company.

Major General Forleh said that the shipping company in Cameroon has received the money, and plans are being made to send the equipment to Liberia.

“I’ll be traveling to Nairobi, Kenya, for the African Union Chiefs of Staff Conference later this week, and after that, I will go to Cameroon to help with the shipment process,” General Forleh said at the event.

Starting the new battalion and the Signal Company is an important step to make the AFL more ready for work. The battalion will do ground and aerial surveillance, gather important information, and quickly respond to threats.

Lieutenant Colonel Robert Jadoe, Assistant Chief of Staff of the AFL, spoke at the event and called the soldiers in the two new units “pioneers.” He said that having armored units and communication together is a new way of doing things in the army.

“These units will help protect the country by giving quick and correct information to help make decisions during missions,” Jadoe said.

Top officials from the Ministry of National Defense and high-ranking AFL officers attended the program. One of them was Deputy Minister for Administration, Augustus Larmin. He used the program to praise the AFL’s growing good name in international peacekeeping.

Minister Larmin said the United Nations and the Federal Republic of Germany have praised the AFL for its peacekeeping work, especially in Mali.

“The Federal Republic of Germany and members of the United Nations have expressed their appreciation for the AFL’s efforts, especially given that our army is still in its rebuilding phase after years of conflict,” he said.

Speaking for President Joseph Boakai, who is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Liberia, Minister Larmin said the government is committed to giving the army more help.

“On behalf of the President, I assure you that all will be done to provide the AFL with the necessary logistics and equipment to execute its statutory duties,” he said.