EU gives Ghana confiscated military vehicles

MEPs had requested that the armoured cars, which were initially seized in Libya, be shipped to Ukraine.

105 military vehicles that the European Union captured en route to Libya have been sent to Ghana. The West African nation stated in a statement that EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell gave the armoured cars to the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) on Saturday in the capital, Accra.

According to the GAF, the donation was given in support of the EU’s ongoing border control and terrorist prevention measures in the “Sahel regions of Gulf of Guinea countries,” as well as Ghana’s “internal and external efforts” to maintain peace and stability.

It stated, “Land Cruiser Pickups, GMC Sierra, Toyota Land Cruisers, Toyota Single Cabins, Chevrolet Silverado, and Sierra Pickups were among the 105 militarised vehicles donated.”

Borrell stated that “further equipment will also be delivered in the future: aerial surveillance, electronic warfare systems, and river crafts,” even though he was confident in the donation’s positive effects on Ghana and the West African region.

The armoured vehicles were taken off a ship off the coast of Libya in October of last year by the EU military mission, IRINI, for allegedly breaking the UN arms embargo against the country of North Africa.

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Along with another batch of over 100 armoured Toyota off-road vehicles modified to contain a mounted gun, a shipment of 41 BATT UMG armoured vehicles made in the United Arab Emirates was seized.

A number of stories from last week stated that MEPs (members of the European Parliament) wanted the EU to give Ukraine the armaments that were intercepted. According to reports, the plan was presented by Dutch MEP Bart Groothuis, who has the backing of Guy Verhofstadt of Belgium and Nathalie Loiseau of France, who chairs the MEP defence subcommittee.

According to citations, Groothuis stated that there is no reason why the EU cannot emulate the US, which declared it would give Kiev 1.1 million rounds of munitions that it had confiscated in December. The consignment that the US Naval Forces Central Command seized was purportedly transferred from Iran to Yemen.

Until Moscow is vanquished from the current armed confrontation in Ukraine, Washington and its allies have committed to support Kiev. However, there have been obstacles to this pledge, such as the inability of Western funders to increase military production to meet Kiev’s actual weaponry demands.

For example, the EU had committed to transfer one million artillery shells to Kiev by the spring of next year, but Bloomberg revealed last week that just roughly 30% of the agreed quantity had arrived.