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10 May 24. The SANDF needs government support – Rise Mzansi. “Effective defence for a democratic South Africa.” This is the vision defined for the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) in the Strategic Plan 2020-2025, published by the Department of Defence in 2020. A noble and just vision, in-line with Section 200 of the Constitution, which mandates a defence force that “Provides for a structured, disciplined military force and the primary objective, which is to defend and protect the Republic, its territorial integrity and its people.”
The Strategic plan was intended to provide a framework for the SANDF to operate under, as an extension of the Defence Review 2015, a 344-page document which was meant to outline SANDF’s strategic objectives and our National Security Policy, also produced by the Department of Defence. It is now 2024, and our Defence Force has marked the 30th anniversary of its establishment on 27 April, an anniversary shared with the beginning of South Africa’s democracy. Yet, the SANDF still has been unable to figure out what its purpose is.
Despite previous documents, which are filled with goals, tasks, and milestones, none have been met. A new review has been announced by the current Defence Minister, Thandi Modise, which is meant to include new structural changes and strategies. This Review was originally scheduled for release at the end of 2023 but is now intended for release in October 2024. In the meantime, the SANDF has repeatedly seen its budget cut, with the current 2024/2025 budget being the lowest since the creation of the South African armed forces in 1960, at 0.7% of GDP.
The primary domestic guardian is the South African Police Service (SAPS), but out of desperation and decades of failed policing, the government has had to resort to the SANDF to fulfill tasks meant to be carried out by the SAPS. The SANDF’s biggest commitments at present includes combating sama-zamas, with 3 300 troops committed. Protecting power stations and infrastructure saw 880 troops deployed. Border security sees the deployment of 15 companies of personnel, roughly 1 800 troops. Previous deployments include assisting police with combatting crime, street patrols and roadblocks during the Coronavirus Pandemic, and even preventing the burning of commercial trucks.
Since July 2021, the SANDF has deployed up to 1 495 troops to Northern Mozambique to combat a terrorist insurgency under a SADC Mission (SAMIM). The Deployment to Mozambique is meant to end this year, but the withdrawal – which started in April – comes as insurgent activity has recently increased.
Furthermore, the SANDF has been deployed to the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 1999, as part of UN peacekeeping efforts. This UN mission is in the process of withdrawal, and scheduled to be replaced by a deployment of 5 000 soldiers under a new SADC Mission (SAMIDRC), with 2 900 coming from South Africa. At present, 600 troops are in the DRC ahead of the main force, to set up the necessary basing for the mission. The deployment has already seen the death of three SANDF troops, with four more wounded. Recent reporting has revealed dire living conditions, with an absence of field kitchens, medical staff and the 600 troops sharing six pit latrines.
While the Department of Defence is unable to define SANDF’s purpose, soldiers are being deployed to fill gaps left by the SAPS’s ineffectiveness, with some troops deployed far from home under unclear missions, with little to no support. To date, it is still not clear where the R2 billion needed for the DRC mission will come from.
Rise Mzansi will ensure that ethical leaders, capable of helping the SANDF in developing a new comprehensive and realistic structure, are appointed to key parliamentary committees. Such leaders will enable the SANDF to appropriately respond to emerging threats. We will cut down on wasteful expenditure and ensure funds are allocated effectively, while prioritising new technologies and equipment meant to augment and enhance SANDF’s capabilities. We will ensure budgets for new equipment are spent appropriately, and equipment maintained to prevent the loss of further crucial capabilities.
We need new leaders, to keep us safe. The soldiers of the SANDF need new leaders, to serve them and lead them. We can no longer afford to keep misusing our defence force by passing on policing tasks and asking them to do more with less every time budgets are drafted.
It is time for new leaders with a holistic understanding of international and regional security. Rise Mzansi aims to support and enable the SANDF to safeguard our democracy and act as advocates for peace in our region and the larger international community.
(Source: https://www.defenceweb.co.za/)
10 May 24. China-Philippines: Threat to deport Chinese diplomats highlights escalating territorial dispute. Earlier on 10 May, the Philippines’ National Security Adviser Eduardo Año threatened to expel Chinese diplomats for engaging in the ‘dissemination of disinformation’. Año was referring to reports that Beijing plans to release an audio recording of an alleged January phone call between a Philippine admiral and a Chinese diplomat. According to the leaked alleged transcript of the call, the two sides reached an agreement over a ‘new model’ in managing the disputed Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea, which the Philippiune government denies, with the Chief of the Armed Forces suggesting any recording may be a ‘deepfake’. Separately, on 9 May, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced the tightening of tourist visa restrictions for Chinese citizens due to alleged violations and ‘fraudulently acquired visas’ often linked with illegal offshore gaming operators (POGOs). While worsening bilateral ties and tit-for-tat measures will continue to drive regional tensions, we still assess that an armed conflict between the two countries remains unlikely in the short term. (Source: Sibylline)
10 May 24. Armenia: Widespread unrest in capital has increased government stability risks, risk of revolution. On 9 May, tens of thousands of Armenians protested in the capital Yerevan and demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan over his decision to cede disputed villages to Azerbaijan. Yerevan agreed to hand over four settlements in Armenia’s Tavush province to Azerbaijan on 19 April (see Sibylline Situation Update Brief – 24 April 2024). Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan led the demonstration, having arrived in Yerevan on 9 May after marching from Tavush province. Galstanyan urged Pashinyan to resign, though the prime minister has not responded to these calls. The cleric vowed that the protesters would seek Pashinyan’s resignation through impeachment and acts of ‘peaceful civil disobedience’. Government instability risks are currently elevated. If protests continue to gain momentum ahead of the village transfers, a revolutionary moment akin to the Velvet Revolution that originally brought Pashinyan to power in 2018 would become a realistic possibility in the coming weeks. In the meantime, further protest activity is likely in Yerevan (particularly around Republic Square), as well as Gyumri (Shirak province) and Tavush province, in the coming days. (Source: Sibylline)
09 May 24. Mali-EU: Training mission withdrawal highlights worsening relations, rising Russian engagement. On 8 May, the EU announced that it would not extend the EU Training Mission in Mali (EUTM)’s mandate when it expires on 18 May, effectively terminating the mission. From 2013 to 2022, the EUTM trained Mali’s armed forces (FAMa) in counter-terrorism tactics amid a surge in jihadist and separatist violence. The EU suspended EUTM operations in May 2022 after Mali’s junta withdrew from the G5 Sahel security alliance. While the withdrawal is unlikely to undermine the security forces’ capacity substantially, it highlights continually deteriorating Mali-EU relations. Over the coming weeks, Russia’s Africa Corps will likely move into former EU facilities and increase engagement with FAMa and the broader Malian economy, elevating sanctions-exposure risks. In the coming months, we assess that the EU will also likely continue drawing down its military and diplomatic presence throughout the Sahel, terminating ongoing capacity-building missions in Mali and Niger and elevating the likelihood of further Russian engagement. (Source: Sibylline)
09 May 24. Vladimir Putin has raised the spectre of nuclear conflagration in what he said would be a Russian response to risks posed by the west. In a speech on Red Square to mark the Soviet Union’s victory in the second world war, the Russian president hailed soldiers fighting in his invasion of Ukraine and vowed to stand firm against western attempts to contain Russia. “We reject any state or alliance’s exceptionalist pretences — we know what follows when these ambitions go unchecked,” Putin said on Thursday in an apparent reference to Nato, which has expanded to include Sweden and Finland after his invasion of Ukraine. “Russia will do everything not to allow a global conflict, but at the same time, we will not let anyone threaten us. Our strategic forces are always at combat readiness,” Putin added, referring to Russia’s arsenal of nuclear weapons, the world’s largest. The parade of military hardware that then trundled past the Lenin mausoleum outside the Kremlin culminated with three RS-24 Yars intercontinental ballistic missile launchers, which Russia claims can strike any target across the globe. Putin’s latest warning to the west came at what the Russian leader feels is an inflection point more than two years into his full-scale war in Ukraine. The Russian army is gradually advancing against Ukraine’s outgunned, outmanned troops, who are struggling to hold their positions while they await the arrival of US weapons funded by the recently adopted $61bn aid package. But the Moscow parade, held in an unseasonal flurry of snow, also underscored the losses Russia’s own armed forces had sustained. The only tank in the parade was the T-34, the legendary Soviet armoured vehicle from second world war, that traditionally opens it. Russia has lost more than 3,000 tanks during the war, as many as it had before the invasion, according to a February report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Putin told his troops in Ukraine that Russia was going through a “difficult-epoch-making period” and said they enjoyed the whole country’s support. In separate remarks to commanders fighting in Ukraine, which the Kremlin said were made a day earlier, he said Russia’s entire economic and social development depended on the invasion’s success. “We have every possibility of meeting these targets. But only under one condition — your successful work on the battlefield. This is the key link at the moment,” Putin said. Russia has sought to deter the US and its Nato allies from stepping up their support for Ukraine by making thinly veiled threats about its nuclear arsenal. “The Yarses are floating across Red Square, and you can’t help remembering someone is planning to defeat us on the battlefield. You really want to ask them how the hell [they’ll do that],” Margarita Simonyan, editor of state foreign news network RT, wrote on social media. On Monday, the defence ministry said Putin had ordered it to hold drills rehearsing the use of tactical nuclear weapons in response to “provocative statements” from western leaders such as French President Emmanuel Macron, who has floated the idea of sending western troops to fight in Ukraine. Deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Thursday that the drills were a warning to the west not to escalate tensions with Russia further. “We are warning our adversaries that their escalationary tendencies make it necessary for us to take steps to essentially strengthen our deterrence,” Ryabkov said, according to Interfax. Recommended The Big Read The clash over whether to commandeer Russia’s frozen assets Ryabkov also hinted that Moscow could change its nuclear doctrine, which allows for a nuclear strike only in response to an enemy nuclear attack or if Russia’s very existence as a state is threatened. “At the moment there are no such changes, but the situation itself is changing,” Ryabkov said. “So the relation of our basic documents in the field to our security requirements is the subject of constant analysis.” Putin, however, played down the significance of the drills, the first tactical nuclear exercises Russia has ever announced in advance. “There is nothing unusual here, it’s planned work,” Putin said in the comments to the commanders. (Source: FT.com)
07 May 24. Putin starts fifth term as Russian president with gilded ceremony. France is the only Nato state to send an ambassador to see 71 year-old sworn in as longest-serving leader since Catherine the Great. Vladimir Putin has been sworn in as president of Russia for the fifth time, with France one of the only Nato members to send an envoy to the ceremony. Putin is now set to hold power in Russia until at least 2030, which would make him the longest-serving Russian leader since Catherine the Great in the 18th century. In a terse speech on Tuesday, Putin blamed the West for triggering his invasion of Ukraine and said that Russia needed to stay strong.
“We’re a united and great nation and together we will overcome all obstacles, realise everything we have planned and, together, we will win,” he said during his inauguration in the golden Grand Kremlin Palace.
He was watched by top Russian officials and foreign dignitaries including ambassadors from allied countries such as Iran and China. The US, Britain and most EU states refused to send ambassadors to the ceremony because of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and because they say he rigged the election in March which he won with 87 per cent of the vote. (Source: Daily Telegraph)
09 May 24. Beijing doubles down on strategic ‘reserves’ build-up amid spooked global markets. In a worrying sign for a world already characterised by chaos and conflict, investment analysts have noted an increasingly concerning trend as Beijing continues to expand its strategic reserves stockpiles, with troubling theories aplenty.
As the world’s oldest civilisation, with more than 5,000 years of history, China has been characterised by cycles of boom and bust which correspond with its prominence on the global stage.
China’s modern history, at least since the success of Mao’s revolution and the formation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, is no different, with various policies of collectivisation, mainly the Cultural Revolution and Great Leap Forward both resulting in mass famine, economic stagnation, and decline.
By the time the 1970s rolled around, the now-deceased Mao’s dream of a socialist utopia was crumbling, providing the perfect opportunity for the Western world to engage the ancient power, paving the way for it to emerge as one of the world’s truly great economic and industrial powers.
Characterised as the period of “Boluan Fanzheng” or “Eliminating Chaos and Returning to Normal” by Mao’s pragmatic and reform-minded successor, Deng Xiaoping, in an attempt to “correct the mistakes of Cultural Revolution”.
In response to the abject failures of the heavily central planning and a command economy, Deng sought to open up and liberalise the Chinese economy, paving the way for the true beginning of the globalised economy, and was rapidly embraced by both sides of the Communist East and Capitalist West.
Seemingly unassailable in its economic and industrial ascendency, China’s economic miracle avoided the Asian Financial Crisis and steadily positioned the nation to become the “factory of the world”, resulting in the hollowing out of many national industrial bases in favour of cheaper, “just in time” supply chains.
China’s economic shift also saw a major shift in the global flow of trade, particularly for industrial inputs, energy, and, of course, perishables; all needed to keep the vast Chinese economy and population operating like a well-oiled machine. (Source: Defence Connect)
08 May 24. DoD performance plan emphasises prime mission equipment and operating systems maintenance. One of six priorities set by Defence and Military Veterans Minister Thandi Modise in the 2024 Department of Defence (DoD) Annual Performance Plan (APP) is maintenance of main operating systems and prime mission equipment (PME).
The APP, designated a “draft”, was published by the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) on 6 May after being tabled on 15 March, and runs to 212 pages.
In her foreword Modise writes her priorities “for the period of this 2024 APP” continue to direct implementation of four end-states. They are future defence; organisational renewal; efficiency, effectiveness and economy; and Armscor and the [South African] defence industry.
Elaborating on the main operating systems/PME priority, the Minister wrote the maintenance of these, along with support for national cyber resilience and leveraging defence capabilities to support the national developmental agenda, are “crucial” to the DoD commitment to socio-economic upliftment and safeguarding security and sovereignty.
This ranks as priority number six with number one – the “foremost” according to the Minister, concluding evaluation of the SA Defence Review 2015. This will see an actionable plan formulated “for consultation with the National Executive” by end-October.
This ties in with end-state one which goes about a revised level of defence ambition and revised defence strategic trajectory after Cabinet approval for the SANDF being funded sustainably over multiple medium term strategic frameworks and implemented “programmatically”.
When it comes to efficiency, effectiveness and economy, Modise notes the DoD “is on a deliberate and clear trajectory to comply with budget and allocation ceilings as set by government”.
As far as an organisational renewal is concerned, the Minister writes that a DoD business case report is consulted on and signed off between the Minister of Public Service and Administration (Noxolo Kiviet) and herself.
On the Reserve Force component of the national defence and military structure she has it its “operational utility” has to be emphasised.
Acting Secretary for Defence Thobekile Gamede, in her APP opening remarks, acknowledged current national and departmental fiscal constraints, and said her focus areas are aligned with those of the Minister, namely evaluating the 2015 Defence Review to develop an actionable plan to capacitate the DoD; directing organisational structural renewal; reducing audit qualifications through improved internal governance, risk and compliance structures, processes and controls; combating irregular expenditure and corruption; eradicating of gender-based violence and femicide; and modernising the Department’s Information and Communication Technology systems to enable digital integration and enabling sound resource management, efficiency and accountability. (Source: https://www.defenceweb.co.za/)
07 May 24. Australia’s troops need approval to work under new security law. Australian former-defence personnel will need approval to work in jobs when the end beneficiary is another military force or government.
New legislation goes into force in Australia on 7 May 2024, requiring former defence personnel to seek approval from Australia’s Ministry of Defence before entering into work for that could foreign militaries and governments, including work for defence manufacturers contracted to work for other nations.
The passing of the legislation followed reports of China recruiting pilots from Five-Eyes countries to train carrier pilots.
Approval would be focussed on the beneficiary of the work, in a manner that could affect human resource officers at major prime manufacturers. “You could be working for Boeing, a big US company, but if Boeing were employed by the Indian government to do flight training, you would be impacted by the legislation because India is the end beneficiary, not Boeing,” said Defence’s Chief Security Officer Peter West.
West explained that while there has long been laws against providing sensitive information that would result in protection, the Safeguarding Australia’s Military Secrets Act 2024 would work to prevent such breaches taking place. The requirement to seek approval does not amount to an outright ban, and roles considered ‘innocuous’ would be likely to be approved quickly, added West.
“I think in most cases there will be no issues, but if we think there’s a risk we may deny the authorisation or give you one with conditions attached,” Mr West said.
The requirement to seek approval last a number of years after leaving the services, with the exact mount varying by the sensitivity of the information the person has dealt with, and the exact Defence role. The duration of the requirement can last one, five or 10 years depending on the particular circumstances of the individual.
The new legislation does not extend to joining foreign military forces, as this is addressed under the Crimes Act, which includes provisions for officially sanctioned foreign militaries. West also emphasised that there might be exceptions for roles involving Five-Eyes nations, activities sponsored by the Australian government, or work related to the United Nations, and advised individuals to explore their specific situations through the Defence website. (Source: army-technology.com)
07 May 24. Two more troop contributing countries exit Mozambique. Angola and Namibia are the latest troop contributing countries (TCCs) to exit the South African Development Community (SADC) Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) as the mission’s July closure looms ever larger.
A farewell ceremony for the Angolan and Namibian contingents at Pemba airport saw soldiers honoured with mission service medals as well as applause and thanks for what they did in the east African country.
Bidding soldiers from the two SADC countries farewell, SAMIM Force Commander, South African Major General Patrick Dube, said the work they did “will always remain in the hearts and minds of Mozambicans”.
SAMIM thanked them for commitment, dedication, courage and skills during the deployment in support of Mozambique security forces with the two-star noting their proud contribution to regional peace and security.
Botswana was the first to exit SAMIM, followed by Lesotho and South Africa, with President Cyril Ramaphosa, SA National Defence Force (SANDF) Commander-in-Chief extending the deployment the day it finished on 15 April. That leaves, as far as can be ascertained, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia with troops on the ground in Cabo Delgado. The presence of Namibian soldiers and equipment was not previously mentioned in SADC statements or SAMIM social media postings.
SAMIM operations to curb ASWJ (Al Sunnah wa Jama’a) started in August 2021 in the Macomia, Muidumbe and Nangade districts of Cabo Delgado.
Rwanda has pledged to send more troops to Cabo Delgado where terrorists have unleashed a fresh wave of attacks in recent months after suffering military losses to international forces.
The Rwandan troops will arrive to help avoid a security gap as SAMIM leaves the province.
In March, 300 rebel fighters reportedly seized and occupied the coastal town of Quissanga, a district capital. Insurgents beheaded three members of the security forces on nearby Quirimba Island the following day.
The new attacks have hit areas that were relatively untouched since the start of the insurgency, including a sustained push into the Chiúre district near Cabo Delgado’s southern border. These attacks are “notable for their relative intensity and the absence of an effective response from state forces,” Cabo Ligado, a website that monitors the insurgency, reported in March.
Brigadier General Patrick Karuretwa, who leads the Rwandan Defensc Force’s international military cooperation, said the country already has about 2 500 soldiers and police personnel in Cabo Delgado’s Ancuabe, Mocimboa da Praia and Palma districts.
The SAMIM withdrawal “obliges us to take certain measures,” Karuretwa said in a report by the Mozambique Information Agency. “We shall train Mozambican soldiers to occupy the places where SAMIM used to be stationed. We are also increasing the number of our own forces, and making them more mobile, so that they can cover larger areas.”
Rwandan forces in 2021 recaptured the northern port of Mocimboa da Praia from insurgents who controlled the city for about a year, disrupting a major natural gas project.
About 300 troops from Tanzania are expected to remain in Cabo Delgado under a separate bilateral security agreement, according to Zitamar News. Tanzanian forces are based in the Nangade district in northern Cabo Delgado.
The final SAMIM forces are expected to leave in July. Mozambique Foreign Minister Veronica Macamo has said SAMIM is departing due to “financial problems.”
“We also have to take care of our own troops and we would have difficulty paying for SAMIM,” Macamo said recently. “Our countries are not managing to raise the necessary money.”
The European Union has pledged $21.3 m to fund the next Rwandan deployment.
After meeting with Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi in March, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune also pledged to send basic personal equipment for members of Cabo Delgado’s local militias who fight alongside security forces.
SAMIM has helped make significant counterterrorism gains since its deployment and more than 600 000 people who fled violence in Cabo Delgado had returned to their homes as of December 2023, Relief Web reported.
Thomas Mandrup, associate professor at Stellenbosch University’s Security Institute for Governance and Leadership in Africa, said he believes the mission achieved its objective of reducing the insurgents’ capacity.
However, “SAMIM has found it difficult to fulfil its mandate of training the Mozambican force because they couldn’t identify their training needs,” Mandrup said in an interview with The Conversation. He added that the mission’s development and humanitarian efforts “have been limited at best.” (Source: https://www.defenceweb.co.za/)
07 May 24. Congo (DRC)-Rwanda: Ongoing fighting will sustain heightened bystander risks for aid workers. On 3 May, suspected Rwandan forces and M23 rebels attacked the Lac Vert and Mugunga internally displaced persons (IDP) camps in Congo (DRC)’s North Kivu province. They employed explosive devices, killing 12 people. The camps are located around eight miles (13km) from the city of Goma (North Kivu). Fighting between Congolese forces and the M23 has been ongoing in the area since the latter escalated its operations in February. Kigali has denied US accusations that the attacks were mounted from positions held by Rwandan forces and the M23. The accusations underscore elevated sanctions risks facing Rwanda. Further indiscriminate bombings and targeted attacks against civilian areas and IDP camps on the outskirts of Goma are likely, sustaining heightened security risks for NGOs and aid workers. We assess that this will likely exacerbate displacement risks, increasing strains on humanitarian organisations in the short-to-medium term. (Source: Sibylline)
06 May 24. Vladimir Putin has ordered Russia’s military to rehearse the use of so-called tactical nuclear weapons in combat, casting the drills as a response to “threats” from French President Emmanuel Macron. The exercises are the Russian president’s latest salvo in a stand-off with the west over his invasion of Ukraine, during which Putin has repeatedly made veiled threats to use nuclear weapons. Russia said the drills, which cover non-strategic nuclear weapons that can be used in battlefield situations, were a response to “provocative statements” from western officials including Macron. The French president last week reaffirmed that he was leaving open the possibility of sending western troops to Ukraine, as he warned of the threat Russia’s invasion poses to Europe. The Kremlin also signalled its ire with the US Senate, which passed a long-delayed $61bn aid package for Kyiv last month, as well as the UK, whose top diplomat Lord David Cameron said last week that Ukraine could use British-supplied weapons against targets inside Russia. “They were talking about being prepared and even intending to send armed deployments to Ukraine, which is essentially putting Nato soldiers against the Russian military,” Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesman, told reporters on Monday. “This is a totally new level of escalating tensions. It is unprecedented, it demands special attention and special measures,” Peskov said. The Kremlin has sought to deter western powers from intervening more directly in the grinding two-year war in Ukraine, where Russia’s forces have gained the upper hand against Kyiv’s outmanned, outgunned army. Dmitry Medvedev, a former stand-in president for Putin, said Russia “would have to respond” if western countries sent troops to Ukraine, prompting a “global catastrophe”. The exercises mark a return to nuclear sabre-rattling for Putin ahead of his inauguration for a fifth presidential term on Tuesday, when he will extend his quarter-century rule until at least 2030. It came as Macron hosted China’s Xi Jinping in Paris, who European leaders have urged to use his influence over Putin to encourage restraint on nuclear issues. Russia’s defence ministry said the drills would test whether units were fully prepared to use non-strategic nuclear weapons — such as short-range missiles or torpedoes — “to respond and in order to unconditionally ensure the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Russian state”. Rocket and aviation forces of Russia’s southern military district, as well as naval units, would hold the exercises “soon”, the ministry said, without providing any further details. Though Russia regularly stages nuclear exercises, holding them as an explicit response to the west is highly unusual, according to William Alberque, former director of Nato’s Arms Control, Disarmament, and Nonproliferation Centre. “My impression is that this is a clear attempt to use nuclear coercion against Macron himself for his recent statements on Ukraine and Russia. We are certainly embarking on unknown territory in terms of nuclear signalling,” Alberque said. The Kremlin has repeatedly voiced its dissatisfaction with Macron’s hawkish stance since he first floated sending western troops to Ukraine in February, with Moscow claiming such a move would make a direct conflict between Russia and Nato inevitable. Dmitry Kiselyov, the presenter of Russia’s flagship state television news programme, hosted a segment late last month called ‘We will use it!’, in which he assured viewers Moscow was prepared to fire nuclear weapons in such a scenario. “If Nato countries deploy their forces to Ukraine in order to deal a strategic defeat to Russia, then [ . . . ] we’ll send everything flying everywhere!” Kiselyov said, standing in front of a montage of nuclear-capable missile launches. Eduard Hulicius, deputy foreign minister of the Czech Republic, told the Financial Times that Russia had also issued warnings it could use nuclear weapons in February and March. “They are trying to intimidate western populations and Ukraine. They are trying to show their own population they are strong,” he said. “We should not be intimidated.” (Source: FT.com)
06 May 24. Investigation Reveals Controversial Privatization of Australian SAS Operations to Omni Security Firm. A Stuart McCarthy investigation has unearthed serious concerns regarding the privatization of certain Australian SAS operations through the establishment of Omni Executive Pty Ltd, a private security and intelligence company. Three former senior Australian SAS officers are now under scrutiny by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) over potentially improper federal government contracts totaling over $230 m since 2015. These contracts were largely awarded through non-competitive tenders to Omni, which was reportedly set up as a “front company” to carry out sensitive national security operations without direct military involvement.
Omni Executive was founded in 2012, shortly after the exposure of classified activities by the secretive SAS 4 Squadron in Africa. This timing and the subsequent employment of senior SAS personnel have raised allegations of a conflict of interest and lack of transparency in government procurement. The firm has garnered a portion of its contracts from various high-level Australian security agencies and departments, with many details of these contracts shrouded in secrecy due to their nature.
Former Defence personnel and other sources have criticized the opaque nature of Omni’s operations and its close ties with the government, suggesting that it functions as a means for the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to outsource tasks that require deniability or additional secrecy. This includes intelligence gathering, electronic warfare, and other covert operations in Southeast Asia and potentially domestic surveillance—activities typically reserved for national military and intelligence agencies. (Source: https://www.sofx.com/)
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