British troops train ahead of Ebola mission in S. Leone

Dozens of British military personnel are due to fly to Sierra Leone next week to help build medical facilities to combat the Ebola epidemic, the defence ministry said on Tuesday.

"The Ebola virus represents a global threat to public health and we will not stand idly by," Britain's minister for the armed forces, Mark Francois, said as he visited troops preparing for their mission at a training facility in northern England.

Around 100 British troops are expected to travel to provide assistance, including building a 12-bed treatment unit.

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There are already around 40 military personnel in the country.

Some of them were seen training in protective suits in a mock-up field hospital set up in a hangar treating simulated casualties.

Britain has pledged to provide infrastructure for 700 beds.