Chief Shamaal: Military will make whatever sacrifice necessary to protect the people

Chief of Defense Force Major-General Abdulla Shamaal, on Tuesday, said the Maldives National Defense Force was willing to make whatever sacrifice necessary in order to protect the Maldivian people from the COVID-19 pandemic.

He made the remark in his address on occasion of the 128th anniversary of MNDF this morning.

Shamaal noted that the 128th anniversary of MNDF came at a gloomy time for both the world and Maldives itself as it struggles to control the new coronavirus pandemic.

He noted that the military was in the frontlines of the battle to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Maldives.

“The military is engaged in a great number of operations for the sake of the people and the national. I want to note that it has been weeks since military officers have been engaged in these operations and haven’t seen their families,”

He took the opportunity to thank the families for their patience and understanding.

 “I want to assure the people that, In Sha Allah, the Maldivian military will make whatever sacrifice necessary to protect the people from the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. The military will continue its work to the last man left standing,” said Shamaal.

Shamaal noted that the military was engaged in some of the riskiest work in the frontlines of the national emergency response effort, with military officers working as field first responders, and engaged in transporting patients, preparing and managing quarantine and isolation facilities, and a number of other such work.

Officers have also been deployed to deliver essential goods to households within the capital Male’, which is under lockdown and is experiencing a surge in virus cases.