UK Armed Forces help Tunisian forces fight violent extremism
UK military support to counter-IED training in Tunisia has been extended for an additional year, the Defence Secretary has announced.
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has announced that UK military support to counter-IED training in Tunisia has been extended for an additional year. Crown Copyright.
The extension of the in-country team underlines the UK’s support against the threat posed by extremists, Michael Fallon has said, with Tunisia a frontline state in the fight against Daesh.
The small team, comprising counter-IED and training specialists, deployed in March last year. They have been instrumental, as part of a multinational team, in bringing structure and clarity to training at the Explosive Ordnance Device (EOD) School in Tunisia, helping transform it into a specialist centre offering 14 different courses.
The decision to extend will enable British personnel to help the Tunisian Security Forces reach international standards of capability and achieve self-sufficiency in training.
Separately, the UK will provide three specialist training courses to the Tunisia National Guard Commando this summer, to help them deal with internal and external threats.
The month-long training, which stems from a request made by the National Guard, will focus on medical training, small boat handling and security operations training and will create a cadre of instructors to further cascade training within the National Guard.
The commitments come as Britain marks the one-year anniversary of the terror attack in Sousse in which 38 people were killed, including 30 Britons.
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said:
This support will help our ally Tunisia to protect innocent civilians from terrorism. It underlines our determination to defeat Daesh and our commitment to security in the region.