NEW YORK, September 17 (RIA Novosti) - The US will deploy 3,000 troops to West Africa and set up a command post in Monrovia, Liberia, to tackle an Ebola outbreak that has claimed some 2,500 lives, the White House said in a statement on Tuesday.
"US Africa Command will set up a Joint Force Command headquartered in Monrovia, Liberia, to provide regional command and control support … A general from US Army Africa, the Army component of US Africa Command, will lead this effort, which will involve an estimated 3,000 US forces," the statement said.
"The United States will leverage the unique capabilities of the US military and broader uniformed services to help bring the epidemic under control. These efforts will entail command and control, logistics expertise, training, and engineering support," the White House added.
The US will build clinics, train 500 medics, provide 50,000 home kits to Liberia and target the 400,000 most vulnerable households in the country in a bid to tackle an outbreak that the UN has described as "unparalleled in modern times."
"The Ebola epidemic in West Africa and the humanitarian crisis there is a top national security priority for the United States," the White House said. "Every outbreak of Ebola over the past 40 years has been contained, and we are confident that this one can - and will be - as well."
More than 2,450 people have died in the worst Ebola outbreak in history and the first to have occurred in West Africa. It began in southern Guinea in February and spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. The World Health Organization (WHO) says it could infect some 20,000 people before it is brought under control.
