Soldiers from 22 African nations join exercises as part of the African Union's African Standby Force (ASF) at the South Africa National Defence Force's Lohatla training area October 28, 2015. Backed by tanks, armoured vehicles and plenty of EU cash, thousands of African soldiers took on an imaginary enemy in the arid heart of South Africa this week, the last joint exercises before a homegrown continental strike force goes live. Standing on far-away hilltops, commanders peered through night vision goggles and issued orders through helmet-mounted radios to the 5,400 troops simulating a dawn assault on rebels in the fictitious city of Kalasi marked out in the bush. The orderly manoeuvres and high-tech kit elicited purrs of approval from military chiefs who tout the rapid-reaction battalion - a key part of a long-awaited African Standby Force (ASF) - as the antidote to insurrections spiralling into civil war or even genocide. Picture taken October 28, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings