WARSAW, July 19 (Xinhua) -- The number of Poland's Territorial Defence Force (WOT) soldiers currently reaches 11,600 and the figure will eventually rise to 53,000, Polish Deputy Defence Minister Wojciech Skurkiewicz was quoted by the Polish Press Agency as saying on Thursday.

The official gave the numbers as he answered MPs' questions in the Sejm (the lower house of the parliament) about the ongoing formation of the WOT.

Skurkiewicz gave his assurances that the WOT's structures are being formed according to the Defence Ministry's plan and the process will continue. In key steps so far, the force's command has been set up, its commander has been appointed, and the law on the universal duty to defend Poland has been amended to cover the WOT, Skurkiewicz said.

"At the moment, the WOT numbers 11,600 soldiers, of whom 2,100 are professional soldiers and 9,500 are territorial defence personnel," Skurkiewicz said.

Skurkiewicz added that the average age in the new force is 32 years old, "almost 50 percent" of soldiers have secondary education and "a further 30 percent have a university degree." Skurkiewicz also noted that 10 percent of WOT soldiers are female.

Launched at the beginning of 2017, the WOT is tasked with supporting the operational forces and local communities, including during natural disasters. The WOT's command plans to train 18,000 volunteers this year. Enditem

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