Britain has cancelled one of its annual military trainings in Kenya after failing to obtain a license from the government, its defense ministry said on Thursday.
Kenya hosts a permanent base for the British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) in Laikipia, about 200 kilometers (130 miles) north of Nairobi.
The east African nation became independent from Britain in 1963 but ties remain strong and their defense agreement allows for several thousand British troops to carry out exercises on Kenyan soil each year.
“It is with regret that the necessary licenses required to allow training to take place in Laikipia later this year have not been forthcoming,” the British ministry of defense said in a statement.
The training has been relocated to another country, it added, without disclosing the new location.
The ministry did not reveal the reasons behind the failure to obtain the licence, while the Kenyan government did not respond to AFP queries on the matter.
The relocation, however, does not affect the broader defense partnership between the two countries, the ministry said.
The base has been a source of controversy over the years, however, thanks to high-profile murder and rape cases involving British soldiers.
