MOSCOW, October 3. /TASS/. Russian Airborne Troops will hold joint drills in Africa for the first time together with Egyptian forces and practice at destroying illegal armed group in the desert, the Russian Defense Ministry’s press service said on Monday.

"For the first time in history, a unit of Russian paratroopers plans to arrive in Africa with their own equipment to participate in the joint international drills," the press service said adding that representatives of 30 countries will observe the maneuvers.

The defense ministry said that Russian and Egyptian servicemen "will develop common approaches to issues of cooperation when performing joint actions to localize and destroy illegal armed groups in the desert."