Army to give 50 machine guns to civilian paramilitary organization

The Lithuanian Armed Forces will give 50 machine guns and 8,000 rounds of ammunition to the civilian paramilitary organization Riflemen's Union, the Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.

The German-made machine guns, which are in good working order but not used by the army, and ammunition will be entrusted to the Riflemen's Union for a period of ten years, according to the ministry.

"These machine guns will provide the riflemen with an opportunity to train to use NATO-standard compliant weapons," it said in a press release.

In 2016, the military transferred 500 automatic rifles to the Riflemen's Union.

The organization says it has almost 11,000 members.