WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th March, 2020) The annual African Lion military exercise became the latest casualty of the global novel coronavirus pandemic with this year's event being canceled, the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) said in press release on Monday.
"The decision to cancel the exercise was made based on international travel restrictions associated with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and to minimize the risk of exposure to US and partner nation service members," the release said.
African Lion had been scheduled to take place from March 23 to April 4, 2020, in Morocco, Tunisia and Senegal, with nearly 4,000 US service members and about 5,000 troops from Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal, Spain, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
As the COVID-19 spread accelerated, AFRICOM first attempted to downsize the exercise, by excluding portions that required lodging service members in close quarters.
But on Monday, the command called off the entire event and began planning for next year's African Lion 21, according to the release.
