US must engage with Africa, says UK Defence Secretary

'Radicalisation is going in the wrong direction [in Africa],' Ben Wallace said 

The UK has called on the US to engage with Africa under President Biden, warning that both Russia and radicalisation were significant threats to the stability of the continent.

Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, “raised the importance of Africa” in a phone call over the weekend with his new US counterpart, Loyd Austin, he told the Telegraph on Tuesday.

“We have to encourage the US to continue its investment,” he said at the opening of a £70m British training base in central Kenya.  

Nearly 700 US troops stationed in Somalia were withdrawn in one of the final acts of the Trump administration. Critics said the hasty exit was a victory for jihadist groups just ahead of a subsequently-delayed election. 

Coldstream Guards on exercise in the foothills of Mount Kenya

Credit: Anthony Upton

Washington also withdrew 300 of its soldiers operating across Africa, before the Senate stalled further cuts to troop numbers.  Former President Donald Trump made no trips to sub-Saharan Africa during his four years in office, while reports that he called nations on the continent ‘shit-holes’ provoked fury at the African Union.   

“All my experience tells me that in Africa, radicalisation and the [counter terrorism threat] are going in the wrong direction,” Mr Wallace told the Telegraph.

 “The spread of radicalisation on both sides of Africa often meets no barriers at all.   “In the east, Al Shabaab — probably the most active, capable Al Qaeda affiliate there is — manages to do operations within Somalia and export operations abroad, targeting both British interests in Kenya and Kenyans.

"[In West Africa,] Boko Haram is gaining momentum, as are the Islamists in [the Sahel region, underneath the Sahara desert]. If radicalisation takes hold and if the states are not robust or resilient enough, it can spread really quickly."

Mr Wallace also raised the increased presence of China, Russia and the Kremlin-linked Wagner mercenary group in countries like the Central African Republic as major issues the UK and the US had to address together.

"The activity from Wagner group and Russia in destabilising some of these countries…is something that needs to be challenged," Mr Wallace said  

The minister’s comments came at the opening of the refurbished Nyati Barracks in the town of Nanyuki in central Kenya.

Since 2016 British troops have trained in Kenya following a co-operation agreement between the two nations

Credit: Anthony Upton

Every year, thousands of British soldiers train alongside Kenyan, US and Commonwealth troops on military exercises at the base.

The sunbaked, rugged land of Archer’s Post — which lies some 70 miles northeast of the base — is an ideal place for troops to train for the Middle East and Afghanistan’s unforgiving landscapes.

 "[The Nyati Barracks] represents in material terms for the British army, a near unrivalled training facility,“ said General Sir Mark General Carleton-Smith, the UK’s Chief of General Staff.  

"What we’ve got here in Kenya is a world-beating training facility…In partnership, we can use [the base] as a potential springboard to service all sorts of other military outreach projects in the region.“    

At the opening, both Kenyan and British commanders spoke of their high regard for the others’ forces’ skills.

"The Kenyan army is now deeply experienced. We have the opportunity to learn from Kenyan soldiers and junior commanders who have served in Somalia on 12-month operational tours. That’s an invaluable experience for us to tap into," said General Carleton-Smith.

"The British doctrine of war is that we fight in coalitions. The ability to learn to operate alongside partners is something you can’t invent overnight when you need it," he added.

The defence secretary said that the lessons Kenyan soldiers were learning in Somalia in their almost decade-long fight against the jihadist group were indispensable for British forces.  

"You want to find tomorrow’s battles? It’s out there in Somalia, Ukraine and Libya. It’s the use of… simple technologies like do-it-yourself drones to drop old fashion mortars on people and improvised explosive devices," said Mr Wallace. "And that’s what we find valuable — the Kenyan knowledge of some of that."