Agence France-Presse NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called for boosting security cooperation with the Arabian Gulf states as the Western military alliance opened its first office in the region in January 2017. “It will be a vital hub for cooperation between the alliance and our Gulf partners,” Stoltenberg said at the inauguration of the center in Kuwait in the presence of Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah. The center in Kuwait City is based on the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI), which was launched by NATO leaders in 2004 and aims to boost security links with the Middle East, in particular Arabian…
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UNIPATH STAFF Continuing humanitarian assistance to Yemenis besieged by al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, the United Arab Emirates in January 2017 delivered medical equipment, food, toiletries and sanitary products to the port of Mukalla in Yemen’s southern governorate of Hadhramout. “The relief operation is being operated by the Emirates Red Crescent, the UAE’s humanitarian arm, to help Yemen,” said Abdullah al-Musaferi, representative of the Red Crescent in Hadhramout. The ship was the second in a continuous humanitarian sealift being operated by the Red Crescent, which is carrying out a range of relief and development projects in Yemen with the aim…
UNIPATH STAFF Huge smiles lit up the faces of the Iraqi children lining up outside the newly opened school in the Jadaa displacement camp. Many of these children had not seen a classroom in two years. The Iraqi government, the United Nations and their partners are slowly trying to repair the damage done by the Daesh terror group, whose rule had a devastating impact on a generation of children. Many parents simply refused to send their children to school during the Daesh occupation that began in 2014. The extremist group devised its own curriculum and printed textbooks that emphasized its…
UNIPATH STAFF As Daesh extremists are dislodged from strongholds in Iraq and Syria by military offensives, Jordan faces a growing threat to its border, according to Brig. Gen. Sami Kafawin, who commands Jordan’s border guard forces. He told reporters that he expects some Daesh fighters, increasingly on the defensive, to make their way to southern Syria and Jordan’s border. In response, Jordan is deploying “more and more forces” at the border to safeguard against Daesh, he said. Having observed a “big difference” in threat levels over the past three years, the country’s military leaders have deployed nearly half of Jordan’s…
UNIPATH STAFF Devastatingly accurate and destructive against the enemy, artillery has been an Afghan Army success story. Nowhere is this truer than in Afghanistan’s eastern provinces, where Train, Advise, Assist Command-East (TAAC-E) works with the Afghan 201st Corps to put rounds downrange. From artillery to mortars to air support, the Afghan colonel in charge of fire support is passionate about pounding his enemies into submission; his TAAC-E advisors are equally passionate about ensuring he has what he needs to succeed. Col. Ahmed Jan, fire support officer, 201st Corps, is a rare breed. A former Afghan Northern Alliance fighter, his life’s…
UNIPATH STAFF Turkmenistan discussed the possibility of selling electricity and natural gas to Pakistan during a 2017 meeting whose focus included construction of the continent’s biggest energy transmission project, the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline. Developed by the Asian Development Bank, the pipeline would transport Caspian Sea natural gas from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan and India. The pipeline, begun in 2015, is expected to open by 2019. With a new pipeline network, Ashgabat and Islamabad hope to reduce energy dependence on countries such as Russia, which controlled all TAPI countries’ export pipelines during the 1990s. The pipeline would also help…
UNIPATH STAFF In late 2015, the Saudi Arabian National Guard (SANG) had no helicopters on the ground. But with a plan to build a rotary-wing force consisting of the latest Apaches and Black Hawks, the SANG is now well on its way to assembling a fleet of 156 aircraft. With 36 helicopters as of February 2017, the SANG’s upgrades support Saudi Arabia’s 2030 modernization plan. The SANG began modernization efforts 44 years ago, with the U.S. Army playing a “train, advise, assist and modernize” role, said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Frank Muth, SANG modernization program manager. At its inception, the…
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon Anticipation is in the air as six Soldiers crouch in silence with weapons poised outside a sealed building. Three of them are from the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), and three are peacekeepers from the French contingent of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). At the signal, the Lebanese trio moves toward the door. On the whispered count of “three,” one of them yanks it open. Immediately they enter the room to search and secure it. Once they confirm it is clear, the trio of French peacekeepers enters the building and secures the…
UNIPATH STAFF As the coalition adjusts its military footprint in Afghanistan, Kazakhstan has stepped up to help ensure stability in Central Asia by contributing to the development of countries in the region. By providing food, humanitarian assistance, and financing for infrastructure projects in Afghanistan, Kazakhstan aims to solidify regional security. “We believe this is a tangible contribution of our government to Afghan stabilization efforts in the international community,” said Kariat Umarov, Kazakhstan’s ambassador to the United States. Nearly 1,000 Afghan students have studied medical sciences, business management, engineering, agriculture and other specialties at Kazakh universities, thanks to a $50 million…
UNIPATH STAFF As part of a strategy to combat terrorist threats, mobile phone operators in Tajikistan have begun reregistering all SIM cards in the country. This new policy will promote security and assist investigators working to solve crimes, according to Alibek Beknazarov, a representative of Tajikistan’s communications agency. “There are subscribers who have several SIM cards and give them to their relatives, friends and acquaintances, who are sometimes living abroad, to use,” Beknazarov told Khovar, the state news agency. “Reregistering SIM cards is indispensable because of the dangers of terrorism. This measure will enable us to create a database of…