London, UK – 9 October 2013
Digital wires
United Kingdom
The MoD released a report on the military’s economic benefit to Scotland. This includes the work associated with the military bases, and the personnel stationed in the region. The report was released during Defence Minister Philip Hammond’s trip to Edinburgh. Scotland will be voting on independence in 2014 and UK military’s presence in the region has been a focal point of the debate. The MoD has approached industry for innovative ways that will protect military helicopters from ground-based weapons. Currently, weapons operator performance is assessed with equipment that can only be fitted onto the Lynx Mk7. The Lynx Mk7’s out-of-service date is imminent and the assessment equipment will then be obsolete.
Russia Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu will be embarking on a trip to Brazil and Peru to promote the sale of Russian weaponry. It is believed that in Brazil Shoigu will push for the export of the SU-22 Greyhound and Igla missile systems. In Peru, he will push for the export of 110 T-90S main battle tanks and the same number of BTR-80A armored personnel carriers. The Russian Defence Ministry will order 32 shipborne helicopters from Progress Arsenyev, reports RIA Novosti. Progress Arsenyev produces the Kamov Ka-52 military attack helicopter that will be deployed on the Mistral-class amphibious assault ships.
North America
US Special Forces carried out two raids in Libya and Somalia. The US captured a senior al-Qaida leader, Abu Anas al-Liby, in Tripoli and failed to capture a senior commander of al-Shabaab in Somalia. Al-Liby allegedly orchestrated the 1998 US Embassy bombings that killed 224 people in Kenya and Tanzania. Al-Liby is being interrogated on a warship that is at sea, reports AP. The Guardian reports that the Communication Security Establishment Canada (CSEC) allegedly hacked into the Brazilian mining and energy ministry. It is being claimed that information obtained has been shared with Canadian mining companies. This is the latest of the cyber security incidents to come out. US-Brazil relations have suffered, because of hacking allegations that targeted the Brazilian president.
Africa
Reuters is reporting that UN peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo will be focusing on two other armed groups in the country, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) and the Islamist group Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). It is estimated that there are 39 armed groups in eastern Congo. The UN mission in the Congo, MONUSCO, has 20,000 troops in the country and because of their efforts the M23 group has returned to peace talks with the government. The Times of Israel reports that a huge explosion occurred at a security headquarters in Egypt’s southern Sinai. The explosion, a possibly a car bomb, killed three and wounded a further 48. This came only hours after an attack where gunmen killed six soldiers. Multiple media agencies are reporting that the United States will halt its military aid to Egypt. A bridge was blown up by suspected Islamists near the northern city of Gao in Mali, reports AFP. Mali’s Defence Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga stated that three or four explosive devices were fired in what is being presumed as a mortar shelling. The Nigerian Army raided a bomb making factory in the city of Kano, reports AP. It is suspected that the Islamists were planning to launch their attack on the Eid al-Adha holiday next week.
Middle East T
he UN chemical weapons watchdog, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, has called for a temporary ceasefire in Syria, reports AFP. The OPCW has a tight timeline to meet with 20 sites to be visited in coming weeks. Currently, 30 OPCW arms experts and UN logistics and security personnel are in Syria and already have begun to dismantle and destroy Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile. The deadline for the disposal of the stockpile is mid-2014. A second team is heading for Syria, reports AP.
Asia-Pacific
North Korea has put its armed forces on high alert, reports Reuters. The US and South Korea are to begin joint naval drills this week, but has been delayed because of a typhoon moving through the region. Both South Korea and US officials have brushed off the North’s warning of a ‘horrible disaster’. Indian Defence Minister A.K. Anthony will induct India’s much delayed aircraft carrier into the navy next month, reports India Today. The INS Vikramaditya, formerly the Admiral Gorskhov, is five years behind schedule and over budget. This has been a source of tension between the Indian and Russian governments. The original deal was signed in 2004 for USD 947 million (GBP 594 million) but then was revised to USD 2.3 billion (GBP 1.44 billion). It is also believed that the deal for over 200 new T-90 main battle tanks will be finalised during Defence Minister Anthony’s trip to Russia next month.
Social media wires
US Navy Pacific Command provides this photo of the US-South Korea naval drills.
US Navy – Republic of Korea Navy formation off #Korea | @usnavykorea @USPacificFleet @USNavy pic.twitter.com/oXcB5fPrKw — U.S. Pacific Command (@PacificCommand) October 3, 2013
Purported gunfire occurring in Cairo.
#Cairo #Egypt RT @Sarahcarr: Something on fire in Tahrir st. Continuing gunfire. pic.twitter.com/5H8hJBb00f — Kristen McTighe (@KristenMcTighe) October 6, 2013
Reports compiled by Stewart Webb Feature photo / “US Navy SEALs on exercise jumping out of a C-130 Hercules” – UD Department of Defense, 2013 The Wires Brief is a mid week breaking news report incorporating wire service news and social media updates. DefRep can not verify the authenticity of social media reporters nor the accuracy of social media updates.