Tunisia to Participate in Joint Military Exercises With France, U.S. and Germany

Tunis — The Tunisian army has scheduled a series of joint military exercises in 2017, with the collaboration of some European countries and the United States, Belhassen Oueslati, spokesman of Tunisian Defense Ministry, said on Thursday.

The spokesman confirmed that these military exercises will cover separate periods in 2017 and different regions of the country, while some of them will be held abroad.

Among the countries participating in these military exercises are France, the U.S. and Germany, in addition to the presence of international observers from Spain and the Netherlands.

According to Oueslati, these exercises will include joint land and air operations between the Tunisian army and different participating units.

"These exercises are part of the Tunisian military institution efforts in order to promote and develop its offensive and defensive capacities facing potential challenges, notably the fight against terrorism," said Oueslati.

The Tunisian army had previously participated in similar exercises including those in Mauritania in 2013, Chad in 2014, Niger in 2015 and Senegal in 2016.

Xinhua