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Asharq Al-Awsat
Asharq Al-Awsat
World
Rabat - Asharq Al-Awsat

African Lion Military Exercises Kick off in Morocco

File photo of a police officer standing near a Moroccan national flag near the main stadium during preparations for the FIFA Club World Cup in Agadir, December 10, 2013. (Reuters)

The United States and Morocco on Monday launched the annual “African Lion” military exercises.

The military maneuvers will take place from June 20-30 in Kenitra, Agadir, Tan Tan, Taroudant, and Mahbes.

The drills follow the end of the work of the academic training course for the African Lion exercises this year.

The course centered on the benefit of members of the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces and other participants within the framework of the comprehensive plan for cooperation.

The exercises are being held for the 18th time by the US and Moroccan armed forces.

During the academic session, training was conducted on the method of joint operational planning.

Coordination between legal aspects, public information, medical planning, and cyber security was tested.

The academic course, which ran from June 6-17, included military trainers from Morocco’s Royal Armed Forces, the United States, and other partner countries.

The course focused on developing interoperability between forces, exchanging expertise and experience in various fields.

The African Lion 2022 exercises will witness the participation of representatives from 18 partner countries, as well as military observers from about thirty countries in Africa and the world.

The African Lion 2021 exercises, held after the US declared the sovereignty of Morocco in Western Sahara, also included the Mahbes region near Ed-Dahle, the largest city in the region. This year, some of the exercise will be held for the second time in the Western Sahara region.

The joint exercises, which were first held between the Moroccan and US militaries in 2007, have become a tradition in the following years with the participation of various countries from Europe and Africa.

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