ISIOLO, Kenya — Kenya has completed an intensive combat training program for soldiers set to deploy to Somalia under the new African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), defense officials said.
The pre-deployment exercise, held at the Infantry School in Isiolo, concentrated on combat preparedness, force protection and civil-military cooperation, all aimed at readying the troops for Somalia’s volatile security landscape.
“The troops underwent simulated operational exercises mimicking the real-time challenges they will face on the ground,” a Kenyan defense official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “This is designed to enhance rapid decision-making and tactical adaptability in a fluid environment.”
The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) also highlighted multinational interoperability during the drills, saying the training was intended to help its units work smoothly with other African contingent forces operating under the AUSSOM stabilization mandate.
Kenya has long been one of the largest contributors of troops to peace operations in Somalia, where the Al-Qaeda-linked militant group Al-Shabaab continues to mount a violent insurgency. The group regularly carries out asymmetric attacks on government forces and international troops across central and southern Somalia.
AXADLETM
