Officials from the Ministry of Defence yesterday joined their Liberian counterparts in celebrating the centennial anniversary of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL).

The Rwandan delegation was led by the Minister of Defence Gen. Marcel Gatsinzi.

During the ceremony which took place in Liberian Capital Monrovia, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who is also the commander-in-chief of AFL, commissioned 16 cadet officers of the force.

Also at the same function, several retired soldiers and civilians were decorated for their services to the war-torn West African state.

Gen. Gatsinzi is accompanied by among others the Director of Gabiro School of Infantry, Maj. Gen. Martin Nzaramba.

Today, Gatsinzi is expected to meet with Liberian Minister of National Defence, Brownie J Samukai Jr, to formalise bilateral defence and military cooperation between the two countries.

Liberia’s armed forces originally composed of home guards of a generation of former slaves in the US, were formalised as the Liberian Frontier Force in 1908. They later became the Armed Forces of Liberia in 1962, before they were torn apart by a civil war in 1990s.

The AFL now has 1,147 members, with 27 officers and 34 Non Commissioned Officers.

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