UK Armed Forces will provide training to Tunisian forces to help stem the threat posed by Daesh, the Defence Secretary has announced…
Michael Fallon has announced that a Short Term Training Team of around 40 UK military personnel has arrived in country to provide training on Operational Planning, Intelligence and Surveillance and mobile patrolling, which will help Tunisia counter illegal cross-border movement, particularly from neighbouring Libya.
The training, led by 4th Infantry Brigade, involves both theoretical and practical exercises that will assist the Tunisians to better guard their land borders, and will be delivered to around 200 personnel at Tunisian Army locations.
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said: "We are determined to support our Tunisian allies to defend against Daesh terrorists who slaughtered innocent Britons on a beach there last year. Our training will help Tunisian forces strengthen their border security and stop the spread of Daesh along the coast.
This is the third tranche of training delivered as part of Britain’s commitment to improving security in the region, following the previous instalments in February, and before that in late 2015. Training to date has been successfully delivered, and has helped build the 1st Tunisian Brigade border security capability. Equally, the troops from the 4th Infantry Brigade gain much valuable experience and insight from their Tunisian counterparts whilst operating in a challenging and testing environment.
Separately, the Defence Secretary announced this year that the UK would extend Counter-IED training for an additional year to support Tunisia against the threat posed by extremists.
Separate to working shoulder-to-shoulder with Tunisia, the UK has more than 3,000 military personnel deployed on operations around the world, underlining Britain’s global military footprint.