MINSK. March 17 (Interfax) - New divisions of special forces will be set up in Belarus, Commander of the Interior Ministry Troops Nikolai Karpenkov said in an interview to the state-run publication SB. Belarus Today on Friday.
"After the Rys, Smerch and Chest units, the Berkut divisions was formed in Military Unit 3214 [based in Minsk]. Its staffing is about to be completed. Service members completing their compulsory military service in a special forces brigade this spring are going to arrive here for service contract," Belarusian Interior Forces Commander Karpenkov said.
"Berkut's primary task is the same as the other newly set up units have, which is the fight against sabotage and reconnaissance groups and illegal armed units," he said.
"The task is to create rapid deployment forces out of special forces. [We must] arm them, equip them and act in mobile groups - with precision and very effectively. We are moving in this direction. We have created in all our brigades and separate battalions across the country three companies of special forces and 12 platoons of special forces. We have held training sessions in military camps, carried out combat shakedown activities. Besides, it is planned to form another three special forces divisions in Gomel, Grodno and Brest through a redistribution of our resources," Karpenkov said.