 DCUK-INTELWeekly public intelligence brief on UK foreign & security policies:Ā For members of Declassified UK onlyIssue 47 – Week to 10 February 2022 EUROPE Estonia/Poland/Eastern Europe Amid tensions with Russia over Ukraine,Ā the UK militaryĀ trainedĀ with Estonian forcesĀ in the Baltic state and it wasĀ reportedĀ that the UK would send around 850 extra troops to Estonia. TheĀ UKĀ announcedĀ it was sending an extra 350 Royal Marines troops to Poland. The deploymentĀ wasĀ āto show that we can work together and send a strong signal that Britain and Poland stand side by sideā, defence secretary Ben Wallace said.It wasĀ reportedĀ that Boris Johnson wasĀ considering deploying Royal Navy warships and RAF fighter jetsĀ to south eastern EuropeRussia/Ukraine The UKĀ reportedlyĀ dispatched 100 special forcesĀ from the SAS, SBS, Special Reconaissance Regiments and Special Forces Support Group to Ukraine to act as āmilitary advisersā.Ā The UK governmentĀ saidĀ the anti-tank weapons it recently supplied to Ukraine entailed no costs and came āfrom existing surplus stockpilesā. The UK government was asked in parliament whatĀ the role is of the 30 UK military personnel recently sent to Ukraine. ItĀ repliedĀ saying āMilitary 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.ā MIDDLE EAST Oman One of Britainās most powerful military officers in the Middle East hasĀ 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 gaveĀ a number of revealing answers to parliamentary questionsĀ about its policies towards Israel.Ā ItĀ saidĀ itĀ does ānot collectā informationĀ on whether British manufactured equipment exported to Israel is used to demolish homes in the occupied Palestinian territories. ItĀ revealedĀ theĀ UK has four military personnelĀ in its embassy in Tel Aviv who āhelp facilitate opportunities between the two countriesā. āAdditional UK personnel visit Israel for training, exercises and engagement purposesā. The UK also admitted it hasĀ trainedĀ eight Israeli military personnel in the UKĀ in the last three years.Ā The UK Ministry of DefenceĀ refusedĀ to publish its defence cooperation agreementĀ with Israel. It also told parliament: āBoth the UK and Israel share a commitment to improving and integrating capabilities in maritime, land, air, space, and cyber and electromagnetic domains.ā The UK governmentĀ rejectedĀ an Amnesty International reportĀ accusing Israel of apartheid. The UK governmentĀ providedĀ figures to parliament on theĀ arms export licences it has grantedĀ to Israeli corporation Elbit Systems: it awarded licences for various military components in October 2020 and January 2021. Saudi Arabia/Yemen Britainās senior adviser in the Middle East, Air Marshal Sammy Sampson,Ā metĀ Saudi Arabiaās chief of staff, Gen Fayyad bu Hamad al-Ruwaili in Saudi Arabia.UK foreign minister Lord AhmadĀ met the foreign minister of the Saudi dictatorship, Adel al-Jubeir in Saudi Arabia. AhmadĀ tweetedĀ it was a āpleasureā to discuss āthe deep partnershipā between the two countries āincluding on human rightsā. Asked which UK-exported arms have been used by Saudi Arabia in the war in Yemen, the UK governmentĀ toldĀ parliament in a striking answer: āWe do not have a full picture of which specific items have been used in Yemenā. The UK governmentĀ saidĀ 19 RAF personnel are in Saudi ArabiaĀ are āproviding routine engineering support to the Royal Saudi Air Force’s Tornado and Typhoon fleetsā. This meansĀ maintaining the warplanes bombing Yemen.The UK governmentĀ confirmedĀ that it hasĀ military officers in the Saudi Air Operations Centre. They āobserve Saudi-led coalition air operations in Yemenā to support āSaudi compliance with International Humanitarian Lawā, the government claimed. Yet airstrikes have been hitting civilian targets in Yemen for seven years.Ā United Arab EmiratesA British man who claims he was tortured and falsely imprisoned in the UAE in 2019Ā began a process ofĀ suingĀ UAE Maj Gen Ahmed Nasser al-Raisi, the new head of Interpol. ASIA AfghanistanFormer chief of the defence staff General Sir David RichardsĀ said: āI think the West is going to end up recognising the Taliban government.Ā If that’s the case, then we’d better get on with it quicker, sooner rather than later.ā 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 agoĀ headedĀ to the islands, in the first time Chagossians have been allowed to enter the archipelagoĀ without being under close British military escort. The UK continues to defy an opinion by the international court of justice that theĀ islands were unlawfully detached from MauritiusĀ by the UK when it granted Mauritius independence in 1968. Kazakhstan Foreign ministerĀ James CleverlyĀ reiteratedĀ the UKās support for the regime in KazakhstanĀ that just killed over 200 protesters. He told parliament: āThis 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.āĀ Cleverly condemned the ārecent loss of lifeā but not the regime. AFRICA Cameroon Questions wereĀ raisedĀ in parliamentĀ followingĀ our storyĀ revealing how the UK military helps keep President Paul Biya, Africaās oldest dictator, in power. The UK governmentĀ toldĀ parliament it believes that Cameroonās Bataillon dāIntervention Rapide (BIR) is āa credible and effective partner forceā. In recent years Amnesty International has found the BIR to beĀ complicit in torture and summary executions.Ā The UK governmentĀ addedĀ thatĀ its training of the BIR has cost Ā£1.4m this financial year, with Ā£250,000 being spent on building a training village in the far north of Cameroon. Britain is building a second site near the capital YaoundĆ©. AMERICAS Argentina/Falklands/China The Chinese embassy in the UKĀ reportedlyĀ stated thatĀ Beijing strongly supports Argentinaās claimĀ to complete sovereignty over the islands. MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE More evidence of police collusion in sectarian killingsĀ was uncovered in Northern ireland. AĀ reportĀ from the Police Ombudsman in Northern Ireland found ācollusive behavioursā 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 reportĀ foundĀ thatĀ 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 UKĀ |Ā www.declassifieduk.orgĀ āĀ Ā āĀ Ā āĀ Ā ā |
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