SALTANAT BERDIKEEVA, Unipath Staff In October 2021, Kyrgyzstan bought new military unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from Turkey to protect its border. The Bayraktar UAV was Kyrgyzstan’s first major investment in military UAVs, commonly known as drones, that fly without pilots or passengers. Only a month later, Kazakhstan acquired the same UAVs for its military in light of growing security threats from Afghanistan. Although drones are not new to Central Asia, the greater integration of UAVs into the armed forces illustrates the benefits of unmanned technology for national security. The drone strikes on oil processing facilities in Saudi Arabia in 2019 have…
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UNIPATH STAFF Hybrid warfare — in which the battlefield is vast with no obvious front lines — has become a major focus of military and security professionals. This type of warfare usually concerns terrorist groups supported by countries seeking to cause chaos and instability so they can assert dominance over an area. These terrorists and their backers disregard civilian lives, international charters and the sovereignty of the states among whose populations they hide. Ballistic missiles and drones are launched from areas under the control of these violent extremists. Because terrorists do not hesitate to use weapons of mass destruction against…
The Lebanese Internal Security Forces Directorate thwarted a human trafficking operation focused on smuggling Syrians into the country in December 2021. Authorities arrested 26 Syrians, among an estimated 500,000 living in Lebanon without documentation. In many instances, Syrian traffickers hold their countrymen in bondage to repay the cost of food, shelter and transit to Lebanon. Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis, the Lebanese government, through Lebanese Security Forces (LSF), is making significant efforts to reduce or eliminate human trafficking. Nevertheless, sealing off the 400-km Lebanon-Syria border to interrupt an illegal trade in fuel, arms, drugs,…
UNIPATH STAFF Serving as a testament to the robust relations binding the two Middle Eastern countries, Qatar has signed 15 memoranda of understanding with Turkey cementing bilateral collaboration in trade, security, military, tourism, education, investment, development, finance, culture, youth, sports events, diplomacy, health care, religious affairs and media. This was the outcome of Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s two-day visit to Doha and his meeting with His Highness Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani that was organized by the Turkey-Qatar Supreme Strategic Committee. “As Turkey, we are in favor of continuing our cooperation, solidarity and further relations…
UNIPATH STAFF To test the readiness of its forces to meet the growing challenges in the region, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) launched the seven-day joint military exercise Emirates Shield 50 in January 2022. Ground, air, naval and marine forces participated in the exercise designed to test interoperability among the various branches of UAE military. Scenarios were developed to echo real-world potential threats. They required the use of live ammunition and various weapons and equipment: helicopters, fighter jets, missile and assault boats, landing craft, and armored personnel carriers. “We are proud of the country’s achievements in the military field over…
UNIPATH STAFF Turkmenistan is promoting its role as a potential guarantor of regional energy security by highlighting its abundance of accessible natural gas. In late March 2022, Ashgabat hosted the International Investment Forum for Attracting Foreign Investments to the Oil and Gas Sector of Turkmenistan. President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov provided opening remarks to entice petroleum-exporting countries like the United Arab Emirates to provide more capital and expertise to develop the country’s hydrocarbon industry. Attendees at the conference stressed the need for reliable energy uninterrupted by conflict and embargoes. Turkmenistan possesses one of the world’s largest reserves of natural gas…
UNIPATH STAFF Dubbed “My blood is for Kuwait,” the Kuwaiti military launched a five-day campaign encouraging its affiliates to donate blood at the headquarters of the Directorate of Moral Guidance and Public Relations in January 2022. The campaign was coordinated with the Kuwait Blood Bank during which a large number of Kuwaiti military officers and enlisted personnel donated blood to increase the strategic supply of the blood bank and fill a shortage of rare blood types. The blood bank provided the necessary medical equipment for the campaign, and donors gathered at Mubarekiya Camps at a pace of more than…
UNIPATH STAFF Jordan’s Eastern Command, in conjunction with the Directorate of Military Security and Drug Enforcement Administration, foiled several attempts to breach the Syria-Jordan border in December 2021. Criminals from Syria tried to smuggle large quantities of narcotics and firearms into Jordan. After exchanging fire with Soldiers from the Eastern Command, several smugglers were injured and the rest fled back to Syria, leaving behind 770,000 Captagon tablets, 969 hashish pouches, four Kalashnikov rifles, and 9 mm pistols and their ammunition, a Jordanian military source noted. Captagon tablets, which contain amphetamines and caffeine, are used as a stimulant by militant…
UNIPATH STAFF Adeteriorating massive oil tanker moored off Yemen’s coast loaded with more than 1 million barrels of crude oil is at risk of leaking into waters teeming with marine life. The Japanese-built floating oil storage vessel Safer, which has a capacity of 3.1 million barrels, has been permanently anchored about 4 miles from the Yemeni Red Sea port of Ras Isa since 1988, according to U.N. News. The International Maritime Organization says it has not been inspected or maintained since 2015. Loaded with oil pumped from the fields of the Yemeni governorate of Marib, the vessel fell into the…
UNIPATH STAFF Bahrain and Saudi Arabia finalized several initiatives targeting security and defense, cybersecurity, procedures for trade and transport across borders. They include transit of travelers through airports, land border crossings and seaports, networking, and electronically connecting the ministries of interior in the two countries. Signing ceremonies took place during a meeting of the Saudi-Bahraini Coordination Council at Sakhir Palace in Manama, Bahrain, in December 2021. The meeting was co-chaired by His Royal Highness Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz and His Royal Highness Bahraini Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa. The two parties agreed to vote for…