The top U.S. Military Commander for Africa said the Pentagon is planning to begin training 5,000 to 8,000 Libyan soldiers by midyear to help bolster the nation's security.

The U.S. is also looking into providing additional airlift assistance to South Sudan, where violence has killed more than 1,000 people and driven 180,000 from their homes in the last month.

General David Rodriguez, Head of U.S. Africa Command, said the U.S. is planning a 24-week training program to help the Libyans, as part of a broader international effort to shore up security in the country and region in the aftermath of the 2011 fall of longtime dictator Muammar Qaddafi.

Photo: A trainee soldier from the Libyan army takes aim at a target during their graduation exam. (File photo: Reuters)