by KIOKO NYAMASYO
Monday February 26, 2024
Kenya on Saturday, February 24, played host to elite Somali military units who will be taking part in Justified Accord 2024, a multinational military unit exercise being conducted by the US government and partner African States.
According to Somali National Television, the country’s national army special unit Danab flew to Kenya from Mogadishu’s Aden Abdulle International Airport.
The Somali soldiers will be part of elite soldiers drawn from three continents organised by the United States and African partners. The accord is the U.S. Africa Command's largest exercise in East Africa.
“Led by U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), and hosted in Kenya, this year's exercise will bring together 1,000 personnel and units from 23 nations,” a communique from the US government revealed.
Somalia’s Danab elite soldiers will be participants in the event that is expected to last between February 26 and March 7.
The elite soldiers are named after lightning and form part of a 2000-member brigade consisting of highly trained commandos renowned for their ability to strike with precision and high accuracy.
During the event, elite soldiers will conduct military drills on how to increase partner readiness for peacekeeping missions, crisis response and humanitarian assistance.
“Justified Accord showcases the desire of U.S. and partner nations to increase readiness and interoperability when it comes to regional security and crisis response,” it was further explained.
While the main events will be held in Nairobi and Isiolo, the soldiers will also travel to Uganda, Rwanda, Botswana and Djibouti for additional events.
The reason for travelling to Isiolo and other parts within EAC will be to undertake field training and live-fire exercises.
Other events to take place include; a multinational command post exercise, maritime exercises, and special operations and cyber courses.
There will also be humanitarian and civic assistance projects during the 10-day military exercise.
The Massachusetts National Guard and US Army reserve units will also feature prominently in the event.
The Massachusetts National Guard shares a State Partnership Program (SPP) relationship with the Kenyan Defence Forces which was struck in 2015.