US military to start training Kenya troops

The US Army will soon start training Kenyan troops as part of a major expansion of American military capabilities in Africa.

Teams of trainers from the US Army’s 2nd Brigade, also known as the Dagger Brigade, will be deployed to as many as 35 countries in Africa in the next two months, Associated Press reports.

The team heading to Kenya will likely consist of fewer than 200 troops.

The units are not permitted to conduct combat operations without approval from the Pentagon. But the US Africa Command (Africom) recently set up a rapid-response force capable of direct military intervention.

Africom head Gen Carter Ham revealed the establishment of the “Commander’s in-Extremis Force” during a talk at a university in Washington DC this month.

“Intensified US military attention on Africa reflects concerns about Islamist armed groups in Somalia, Mali, Nigeria and Libya,” Gen Ham said recently. He said his biggest worry is collaboration among these various groups.