A team of 14 British soldiers and two police officers from the Royal Gibraltar Regiment are currently in The Gambia to train members of the Gambia Armed Forces (GAF) and the Gambian Police Force (GPF).

The team forms a British Military Advisory and Training Team (BMATT) to The Gambia to deliver peace support operations and pre-deployment training.

The aim of the two-week training is to prepare the GAF and GPF for deployment to Darfur in April 2008 as part of the United Nations/African Union Hybrid Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).

The team, led by Major Andrew Bonfante, arrived in The Gambia on Monday, 11th February and are expected to return on Sunday 1st March 2008.

The training is centered on generic principles, tasks and techniques of peace support operations such as First Aid procedures, Vehicle Check Point (VCP) and Access Control Point (ACP) procedures, riot control, self defence, mobile mines and equipment care. A total of 500 Gambian troops and police officers would benefit from the training. The training also includes a live firing exercise and real estate training in the Brikama area.

The training is taking place at the GNG barracks in Fajara, 1st Infantry battalion in Yundum and at the Police training centre.

In a separate development, the Regiment has donated three computers to the Gambia College in Brikama.