The British government has agreed to pay almost $4 million to thousands of victims of a blaze started by its soldiers while in training in Kenya, according to documents seen by CNN.

The settlement follows a long legal battle by local community members in the East African country. The campaigners have said the effects of the 2021 fire in an expansive wildlife conservancy in central Kenya have caused them lifelong health issues, damaged their property and polluted their environment.

Some of them also told CNN that they lost family members due to ailments arising from the inferno that burned through more than 10,000 acres in the privately owned Lolldaiga conservancy.

The fire is believed to have started accidentally during a British military training exercise. The British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) posted a video at the time showing its officers battling the blaze, in which it claimed the community and wildlife had been kept safe.