UNIPATH STAFF Co-chaired by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, His Majesty King Abdullah II ibn al-Hussein of Jordan and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi attended a tripartite summit in April 2022 to address security challenges in the region. Topics at the Cairo summit focused on a joint Arab response to regional crises, as well as ways to improve food and energy security. The Cairo meeting came on the heels of a six-nation summit held in March 2022 in southern Israel that brought together the foreign ministers of Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco,…
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UNIPATH STAFF An international seminar in Turkmenistan about humanitarian assistance to refugees, migrants and internally displaced persons — all the more relevant with the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan — drew attendance from four Central Asian nations in March 2022. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) invited dozens of officials from around the region to Turkmenistan’s capital of Ashgabat. In addition to attendees from border agencies in Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, participants came from the OSCE, the United Nations, nongovernmental organizations, and the EU-funded Border Management Assistance Program in Central Asia. John MacGregor, head of the OSCE…
UNIPATH STAFF Lebanese security forces disrupted a major drug trafficking operation in a raid on the home of a drug lord with operations in the district of Matn, Mount Lebanon governorate, and the district of Keserwan, Keserwan-Jbeil governorate. A search of the drug trafficker’s house uncovered stacks of money, packaging material and large amounts of imported cocaine. Lebanese security forces have a long history of hunting down drug dealers and illicit crop farmers. During the instability and turmoil resulting from the civil war in Lebanon from 1975 to 1990, militias often used drug sales to increase power and influence. In…
Unipath Staff | photos by GENERAL DIRECTORATE OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS, Saudi Ministry of Defense Health and medical care for veterans is a pressing demand. This is even more true in post-crisis scenarios. In response to these demands and represented by coalition forces, the Saudi government has built nine hospitals inside Yemen to support the Yemeni Ministry of Health and Population in its role to unconditionally treat the victims of war and any other civilians capable of accessing its services without regard to race, color or creed. The locations of these hospitals were chosen based on the existing operational profile and…
General Directorate of Strategic Communications, Saudi Ministry of Defense Committed to Islamic principles and the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen (CSLY) has been rehabilitating Yemeni children recruited by the Houthi rebels. When child soldiers are fully rehabilitated physically and psychologically in Saudi Arabia, CSLY, through its Children Protection Unit, coordinates with international organizations to reunite them with their families in Yemen. Children receive physical and mental care in a rehabilitation program at centers prepared for this purpose. The table (right) shows 147 child soldiers who had been recruited by Houthis…
UNIPATH STAFF Focused mostly on simulated chemical weapons attacks, Protection Shield 3, a 2022 military exercise in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, attracted participation from more than 320 personnel. They came from the Saudi Armed Forces, the Civil Defense Authority of the Ministry of Interior, the Red Crescent, the Ministry of Health and supporting American units. Three Saudi officers most involved in the exercise spoke to Unipath about what the exercise achieved in warding off asymmetric threats to the region. They are Maj. Gen. Khalid Abu Qais, commander of the Saudi 5th Air Defense, Exercise Director Brig. Gen. Saeed Al Shahrani and…
UNIPATH STAFF The vulnerabilities of the Arabian Gulf nations, particularly their exposure to potential attacks from missiles, armed drones and improvised explosive devices, require a defense that combines the strengths of the region’s militaries. Eagle Resolve 22, a multinational exercise held by United States Central Command in March 2022, offered a first glimpse of how countries such as Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia could operate an Integrated Air-Missile Defense (IAMD) system to repel such assaults. Eagle Resolve simulations involved attacks by missiles and swarms of drones, detonation of improvised explosive devices, and deceptive social media propaganda designed to weaken the…
We are honored to write this editorial jointly for this special edition of Unipath that focuses on border and coastal defense. Defense requires a watchful eye to maintain security and vigilance while facing national, regional, and global security threats and risks. Many conventional and nonconventional security threats require cooperation and partnership to counter them and ensure security and stability. The deep strategic relationship between the Sultanate of Oman and the United States reflects a close partnership. In 1833, Oman signed a treaty of Amity and Commerce with the U.S. that was ratified by the Congress in 1834. Six years…
WING COL. (PILOT) AHMED JADAE AL MANSOURI, WING COMMANDER, QATAR EMIRI AIR FORCE In recent years, the State of Qatar has worked to strengthen its Emiri Air Force by supplying it with the highest-precision aircraft in the world. Starting with the French-built Rafale jets for the Al-Adiyat squadron, the Qatar Emiri Air Force has begun acquisition of the U.S.-built F-15QA Ababil. This comes from the vision of the State Supreme Command to enhance our military capabilities and to safeguard national and regional security. This system was selected for its ability to perform a number of flights and therefore enhance our…
UNIPATH STAFF Terrorists exploit border gaps far from the eyes of the authorities to infiltrate, smuggle weapons, and undermine security and stability. Inadequate control over the Iraqi-Syrian border led to incursions by Daesh into large areas of Iraq in 2014. Therefore, countries of the region are keen to upgrade border security and thwart smuggling and terrorism attempts. Unipath interviewed Staff Brig. Gen. Ahmed Hisham Khleifat, director of Border Security in the Jordan Armed Forces, to talk about the challenges and missions in securing borders. UNIPATH: What challenges do the border forces face? Brig. Gen. Ahmed: Jordan’s borders face several challenges…