Britain has cancelled one of its annual military training exercises in Kenya after failing to secure a licence from the Kenyan government, the UK defence ministry announced on Thursday.

Kenya hosts a permanent base for the British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) in Laikipia, about 200 kilometres north of Nairobi. The east African nation gained independence from Britain in 1963, but ties remain strong, and a defence agreement allows thousands of British troops to conduct exercises on Kenyan soil each year.

‘It is with regret that the necessary licences required to allow training to take place in Laikipia later this year have not been forthcoming,’ the British ministry of defence said in a statement, according to africanews.com.

The training has been relocated to another country, the ministry added, without disclosing the new location. It did not reveal the reasons behind the licence denial, and the Kenyan government did not respond to AFP queries on the matter.

The relocation does not affect the broader defence partnership between the two countries, the ministry said.

The BATUK base has been a source of controversy over the years due to high-profile murder and rape cases involving British soldiers.