 DCUK-INTELWeekly public intelligence brief on UK foreign & security policies: For members of Declassified UK onlyIssue 47 – Week to 10 February 2022 EUROPE Estonia/Poland/Eastern Europe Amid tensions with Russia over Ukraine, the UK military trained with Estonian forces in the Baltic state and it was reported that the UK would send around 850 extra troops to Estonia. The UK announced it was sending an extra 350 Royal Marines troops to Poland. The deployment was âto show that we can work together and send a strong signal that Britain and Poland stand side by sideâ, defence secretary Ben Wallace said.It was reported that Boris Johnson was considering deploying Royal Navy warships and RAF fighter jets to south eastern EuropeRussia/Ukraine The UK reportedly dispatched 100 special forces from the SAS, SBS, Special Reconaissance Regiments and Special Forces Support Group to Ukraine to act as âmilitary advisersâ. The UK government said the anti-tank weapons it recently supplied to Ukraine entailed no costs and came âfrom existing surplus stockpilesâ. The UK government was asked in parliament what the role is of the 30 UK military personnel recently sent to Ukraine. It replied saying âMilitary personnel recently sent to Ukraine are contributing to Op ORBITAL, the UK’s capacity building operation in Ukraine established in 2015. Under Op ORBITAL, UK Service personnel deliver tactically focused training to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, such as medical, logistics and counter-IED.â MIDDLE EAST Oman One of Britainâs most powerful military officers in the Middle East has died. Sir Erik Bennett, who passed away last month, spent three decades secretly advising Sultan Qaboos of Oman. Bennett was buried today in County Laois, Ireland Israel The UK government gave a number of revealing answers to parliamentary questions about its policies towards Israel. It said it does ânot collectâ information on whether British manufactured equipment exported to Israel is used to demolish homes in the occupied Palestinian territories. It revealed the UK has four military personnel in its embassy in Tel Aviv who âhelp facilitate opportunities between the two countriesâ. âAdditional UK personnel visit Israel for training, exercises and engagement purposesâ. The UK also admitted it has trained eight Israeli military personnel in the UK in the last three years. The UK Ministry of Defence refused to publish its defence cooperation agreement with Israel. It also told parliament: âBoth the UK and Israel share a commitment to improving and integrating capabilities in maritime, land, air, space, and cyber and electromagnetic domains.â The UK government rejected an Amnesty International report accusing Israel of apartheid. The UK government provided figures to parliament on the arms export licences it has granted to Israeli corporation Elbit Systems: it awarded licences for various military components in October 2020 and January 2021. Saudi Arabia/Yemen Britainâs senior adviser in the Middle East, Air Marshal Sammy Sampson, met Saudi Arabiaâs chief of staff, Gen Fayyad bu Hamad al-Ruwaili in Saudi Arabia.UK foreign minister Lord Ahmad met the foreign minister of the Saudi dictatorship, Adel al-Jubeir in Saudi Arabia. Ahmad tweeted it was a âpleasureâ to discuss âthe deep partnershipâ between the two countries âincluding on human rightsâ. Asked which UK-exported arms have been used by Saudi Arabia in the war in Yemen, the UK government told parliament in a striking answer: âWe do not have a full picture of which specific items have been used in Yemenâ. The UK government said 19 RAF personnel are in Saudi Arabia are âproviding routine engineering support to the Royal Saudi Air Force’s Tornado and Typhoon fleetsâ. This means maintaining the warplanes bombing Yemen.The UK government confirmed that it has military officers in the Saudi Air Operations Centre. They âobserve Saudi-led coalition air operations in Yemenâ to support âSaudi compliance with International Humanitarian Lawâ, the government claimed. Yet airstrikes have been hitting civilian targets in Yemen for seven years. United Arab EmiratesA British man who claims he was tortured and falsely imprisoned in the UAE in 2019 began a process of suing UAE Maj Gen Ahmed Nasser al-Raisi, the new head of Interpol. ASIA AfghanistanFormer chief of the defence staff General Sir David Richards said: âI think the West is going to end up recognising the Taliban government. If that’s the case, then we’d better get on with it quicker, sooner rather than later.â He made the comments amid the humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan. Chagos Islands A Mauritian-chartered survey ship carrying Chagos Islanders forces from their homeland by the UK government 50 years ago headed to the islands, in the first time Chagossians have been allowed to enter the archipelago without being under close British military escort. The UK continues to defy an opinion by the international court of justice that the islands were unlawfully detached from Mauritius by the UK when it granted Mauritius independence in 1968. Kazakhstan Foreign minister James Cleverly reiterated the UKâs support for the regime in Kazakhstan that just killed over 200 protesters. He told parliament: âThis month, the UK celebrated 30 years of diplomatic relations with Kazakhstan, our largest partner in central Asia. Over the years, we have built a strong partnership in areas such as oil and gas investment, education and financial services, as well as promoting human rights and democratic values.â Cleverly condemned the ârecent loss of lifeâ but not the regime. AFRICA Cameroon Questions were raised in parliament following our story revealing how the UK military helps keep President Paul Biya, Africaâs oldest dictator, in power. The UK government told parliament it believes that Cameroonâs Bataillon dâIntervention Rapide (BIR) is âa credible and effective partner forceâ. In recent years Amnesty International has found the BIR to be complicit in torture and summary executions. The UK government added that its training of the BIR has cost ÂŁ1.4m this financial year, with ÂŁ250,000 being spent on building a training village in the far north of Cameroon. Britain is building a second site near the capital YaoundĂŠ. AMERICAS Argentina/Falklands/China The Chinese embassy in the UK reportedly stated that Beijing strongly supports Argentinaâs claim to complete sovereignty over the islands. MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE More evidence of police collusion in sectarian killings was uncovered in Northern ireland. A report from the Police Ombudsman in Northern Ireland found âcollusive behavioursâ by police in relation to a series of murders and attempted murders by the paramilitary Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and Ulster Freedom Fighters in south Belfast in the 1990s. The report found that eight UDA members were linked to the murders and attempted murders of 27 people, and all were police informants Catch our member exclusive brief each Thursday Would you prefer a denser report every fortnight, or do you prefer being updated weekly? Denser, but less topical, fortnightly updates. Select Regular weekly updates. Select Declassified UK | www.declassifieduk.org â  â  â  â |
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