Jordan has started a two-year program to train 10,000 Libyan policemen as part of boosting ties with the country's new leaders after the overthrow of Moammar Gadhafi.

A government statement Wednesday says the first batch of 2,000 Libyans have begun their three-month course in policing, security and investigative work at the international police academy outside the capital Amman.

It says 550 Libyan officers will also receive special forces training in combating terrorism.

Jordan's police academy has instructed more than 53,000 Iraqi policemen and 8,000 from other Arab nations, including Palestinians, since it opened in 2003.