UK army drills in Kenya to proceed after permit dispute

Britain will hold one of its annual military training exercises in Kenya later this year after Nairobi agreed to issue the required licences and permissions, both countries said Tuesday.

A British government spokesman said Kenya had agreed to issue the necessary approvals for Exercise HARAKA STORM. Kenya's foreign ministry welcomed the decision and said it reflected the longstanding partnership between the two countries.

Britain's defence ministry said last week that it had not received the licences needed for the exercise and that the drills had been moved to another undisclosed country.

Kenya hosts the permanent British Army Training Unit Kenya base in Laikipia, about 200 kilometres north of Nairobi. The two countries' defence agreement allows several thousand British troops to conduct exercises on Kenyan soil each year.

Neither country specified what the authorisations were or why they had not previously been issued. The base provides income for nearby residents but has also been controversial because of high-profile murder and rape cases involving British soldiers.