Technicals in Africa
Africa is the origin of the Technical name (1) but such vehicles had been present before the NGO intervention in Somalia, with the 'Great Toyota War' between Chad and Libya contributing massively to their influence in Africa. During the conflict Chadian soldiers used offroad trucks mounted with heavy weapons, notably the Toyota Hilux and Land Cruiser, with which they were able to out-manoeuvre their Libyan opponents and do rapid strikes and retreats against them during 1986 and 1987. It also saw some influence from experiences of improvised vehicles in Vietnam, building further on the ideas started there.
An al-Shabaab insurgent proudly displays his 7.62mm PKM Medium machinegun in front of a gaudily attired and interestingly camouflaged but well equipped technical mounting both an 82mm B-10 recoilless rifle and a .50 calibre M3 heavy machinegun in Somalia, 1996. Photo by Ali Musa Abdi.
1- Neville, Leigh, ‘Technicals- Non-Standard Tactical Vehicles from the Toyota War to modern Special Forces’, Osprey Publishing, 2018