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auto-update week 33
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Yo Robot
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@ -913,7 +913,7 @@
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"Energy": {
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"Electricity access": {
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"electrification - total population": {
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"text": "100% (2020)"
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"text": "100% (2021)"
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}
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},
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"Electricity": {
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@ -1213,6 +1213,17 @@
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"text": "the UAE Armed Forces (UAEAF) are responsible for external defense and supporting the UAE’s foreign policy objectives; the military’s primary concerns include terrorism, regional instability, particularly in neighboring Yemen, and Iran, including a territorial dispute over 3 islands in the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian support to proxy forces in the region; in recent years, the UAE has undertaken a large military modernization program to go along with an assertive security policy which has included military interventions in Libya, Syria, and Yemen, as well as peacekeeping missions in Afghanistan and Somalia; the UAEAF has organized, trained, and equipped tens of thousands of militia forces in Yemen and offered training and equipment to several countries in Africa; the UAE also hosts the region’s first military school for women, which has trained female peacekeepers for deployment in Africa and Asia<br><br>the UAE has strong security ties to France and the US; it hosts a multi-service French military base, which includes the French naval command for the Indian Ocean (ALINDIEN); the UAE has a defense cooperation agreement with the US and hosts about 3,500 US troops, mostly air and naval personnel; it also has defense ties with a variety of other countries, including Australia, China, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Malaysia, South Korea, and the UK, as well as fellow members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, particularly Saudi Arabia, and NATO<br><br>the UAEAF traces its origins to the establishment of the Trucial Oman Scouts in 1951, a joint UK-Abu Dhabi organization modeled after Jordan’s Arab Legion, which became the Abu Dhabi Defense Force in 1965; the modern UAEAF were formed in 1976; today, the UAE’s military is considered to be one of the best-trained and most capable forces in the Persian Gulf region; the Land Forces have approximately 5 brigades of armored, light infantry, and mechanized forces, plus supporting artillery units; the Presidential Guard, considered the elite of the Land Forces, has a mechanized brigade and a special operations command; the Air Forces and the Joint Aviation Command together have nearly 150 French- and US-made combat aircraft with more advanced US multipurpose fighters on order; the Navy’s principal warships include nearly 15 corvettes and offshore patrol vessels, also with more on order (2023)"
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}
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},
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"Space": {
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"Space agency/agencies": {
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"text": "UAE Space Agency (created in 2014); Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC; established 2006); in 2015, MBRSC combined with the Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST; established 2006) (2023)"
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},
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"Space program overview": {
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"Space programs overview": {
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"text": "has an ambitious and growing space program and is recognized as one of the leading programs in the region; focused on satellite development, including communications, remote sensing (RS), and navigational; also placing emphasis on building expertise, infrastructure, ground stations, technology, and research and development capabilities to support its space program domestically; rather than building its own launch capabilities, has elected to utilize foreign partners to launch payloads from spaceports abroad; invests heavily in foreign commercial space companies and has sought to encourage global partnerships; has a foreign-assisted astronaut training program; seeking to establish UAE as an international hub for space education; has signed more than 25 cooperation agreements or memorandums of understanding with major global and regional players in the space sector, including the Arab Space Cooperation Group, China, the European Space Agency (ESA), France, Germany, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea, the UK, and the US; sees the development of its commercial space industry as a key pillar for diversifying and developing the country’s non-oil economy; approximately 60 space companies and entities operate in the UAE, including international and start-ups, and five space science research centers (2023)"
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},
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"note": "<strong>note:</strong> further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in Appendix S"
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}
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},
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"Transnational Issues": {
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"Disputes - international": {
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"text": "<p><em>UAE-Oman</em>: boundary agreement was signed and ratified with Oman in 2003 for entire border, including Oman's Musandam Peninsula and Al Madhah enclaves, but contents of the agreement and detailed maps showing the alignment have not been published</p> <p><em>UAE-Iran</em>: Iran and UAE dispute Tunb Islands and Abu Musa Island near the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has occupied since 1971</p> <p><em>UAE-Saudi Arabia</em>: t<em>he </em>UAE has differences with Saudi Arabia<em> </em>over their border and the sharing of a major oilfield there, although the issue is seldom mentioned publically</p>"
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@ -1223,6 +1223,17 @@
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"text": "since November 2020, Russia has deployed about 2,000 peacekeeping troops to the area in and around Nagorno-Karabakh as part of a cease-fire agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan; fighting erupted between the two countries over the Nagorno-Karabakh region in September of 2020; Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under control of ethnic Armenian forces (the \"Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army\") backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994; six weeks of fighting resulted in about 6,500 deaths and ended after Armenia ceded swaths of Nagorno-Karabakh territory; tensions remained high into 2023, and both sides have accused the other of provocations since the fighting ended; Armenia has accused Azerbaijani forces of a series of border intrusions and of seizing pockets of territory (2023)"
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}
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},
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"Space": {
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"Space agency/agencies": {
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"text": "Azerbaijan National Aerospace Agency (NASA; Azərbaycan Milli Aerokosmik Agentliyi, MAKA; established in 1992 from the Kaspiy Scientific Center, established 1974); Space Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azercosmos; established 2010 as a state-owned satellite operating company) (2023)"
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},
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"Space program overview": {
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"Space programs overview": {
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"text": "national space program largely focused on the acquisition and operation of satellites; operates foreign-built communications and remote sensing (RS) satellites; has two satellite ground control stations; cooperates with a variety of foreign space agencies and commercial entities, including those of China, the European Space Agency (and individual member states such as France), Russia, and the US; Azercosmos is the largest satellite operator in the Caucasus region (2023)"
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},
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"note": "<strong>note:</strong> further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in Appendix S"
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}
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},
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"Terrorism": {
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"Terrorist group(s)": {
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"text": "Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS); Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)/Qods Force",
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@ -1234,9 +1245,6 @@
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"text": "<p>Local border forces struggle to control the illegal transit of goods and people across the porous, undemarcated Armenian, Azerbaijani, and Georgian borders.<br><br><em>Armenia-Azerbaijan:</em> The dispute over the break-away Nagorno-Karabakh region and the Armenian military occupation of surrounding lands in Azerbaijan remains the primary focus of regional instability. Residents have evacuated the former Soviet-era small ethnic enclaves in Armenia and Azerbaijan.<br><br><em>Azerbaijan-Georgia:</em> A joint boundary commission agrees on most of the alignment, leaving only small areas at certain crossing points in dispute. Consequently, the two states have yet to agree on a delimitation or demarcation of their common boundary. One area of contention is where the international boundary should run through the 6th-13th Century David-Gareja monastery complex.<br><br><em>Azerbaijan-Iran:</em> none identified<br><br><em>Azerbaijan-Russia: </em>Russia complains of cross-border smuggling.<br><br><em>Azerbaijan-Turkey:</em> none identified<br><br><em>Caspian Sea (Maritime Boundary):</em> Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Russia ratified the Caspian seabed delimitation treaties based on equidistance, while Iran continues to insist on a one-fifth slice of the sea. Bilateral talks continue with Turkmenistan on dividing the seabed and contested oilfields in the middle of the Caspian.</p>"
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},
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"Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
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"refugees (country of origin)": {
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"text": "5,270 (Ukraine) (as of 26 July 2023)"
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},
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"IDPs": {
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"text": "655,000 (conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh; IDPs are mainly ethnic Azerbaijanis but also include ethnic Kurds, Russians, and Turks predominantly from occupied territories around Nagorno-Karabakh; includes IDPs' descendants, returned IDPs, and people living in insecure areas and excludes people displaced by natural disasters; around half the IDPs live in the capital Baku) (2021)"
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},
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@ -1213,6 +1213,17 @@
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"text": "since November 2020, Russia has deployed about 2,000 peacekeeping troops to the area in and around Nagorno-Karabakh as part of a cease-fire agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan; fighting erupted between the two countries over the Nagorno-Karabakh region in September of 2020; Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under control of ethnic Armenian forces (the \"Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army\") backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994; six weeks of fighting resulted in about 6,500 deaths and ended after Armenia ceded swaths of Nagorno-Karabakh territory; tensions remained high into 2023, and both sides have accused the other of provocations since the fighting ended; Armenia has accused Azerbaijani forces of a series of border intrusions and of seizing pockets of territory <br><br>Armenia has been a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) since 1994 and contributes troops to CSTO's rapid reaction force (2023)"
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}
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},
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"Space": {
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"Space agency/agencies": {
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"text": "no government agency; Armenia Space Agency (ArmCosmos; established 2013) is a private agency that operates on behalf of the Armenian Government to develop the country’s commercial space industry and facilitate international engagement on space, particularly satellites for Armenia (2023)"
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},
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"Space program overview": {
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"Space programs overview": {
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"text": "seeks foreign providers for satellite communications, remote sensing (RS), and navigational services; otherwise relies on Russia for satellite needs; seeks to use RS satellite data for border control, emergency prevention and management, environmental protection/climate change monitoring, geology, road construction, urban planning, and other purposes; cooperates with a variety of foreign space agencies and industries, including those of China, the European Space Agency (and individual ESA member states such as Germany and Spain), India, Russia, and the US; has a state-owned company involved in satellite development and production (2023)"
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},
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"note": "<strong>note:</strong> further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in Appendix S"
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}
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},
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"Transnational Issues": {
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"Disputes - international": {
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"text": "<p>local border forces struggle to control the illegal transit of goods and people across the porous, undemarcated Armenian, Azerbaijani, and Georgian borders<br><br><em>Armenia-Azerbaijan:</em> The dispute over the break-away Nagorno-Karabakh region and the Armenian military occupation of surrounding lands in Azerbaijan remains the primary focus of regional instability. Residents have evacuated the former Soviet-era small ethnic enclaves in Armenia and Azerbaijan.<br><br><em>Armenia-Georgia:</em> Georgians restrict Armenian access into Samtse-Javakheti ethnic Armenian areas. Armenia has made no claims to the region.<br><br><em>Armenia-Iran:</em> None identified<br><br><em>Armenia-Turkey:</em> In 2009, Swiss mediators facilitated an accord reestablishing diplomatic ties between Armenia and Turkey, but neither side has ratified the agreement and the rapprochement effort has faltered, in part due to resistance from Azerbaijan. The border has been closed since 1993, and no diplomatic relations established after Armenian independence. In 2022, Turkey and Armenia have agreed to move forward with efforts to normalize relations.<br>Turkish authorities have complained that blasting from quarries in Armenia might be damaging the ruins of Ani, an ancient city on the high ridge overlooking the Arpaçay valley on the opposite shore. </p>"
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"text": "<p>the BDF is a small, but well-equipped military focused on territorial defense and support to internal security; its primary concern is Iran, both the conventional military threat and its support to regional terrorist groups; the BDF participates in multinational exercises and has conducted small deployments outside of the country; in 2015, for example, Bahrain joined the Saudi Arabia-led military intervention in Yemen, supplying a few hundred troops and combat aircraft; the Army’s primary combat units are an armored brigade and a mechanized brigade, plus battalions of royal guards and special forces; in a conflict, the Army would be supported by the paramilitary National Guard; the Navy’s principal warships are a US-provided secondhand frigate, 2 corvettes acquired from Germany, and a secondhand British offshore patrol vessel; the Air Force has small numbers of US-made combat aircraft and attack helicopters</p> Bahrain’s closest security partners are the US and Saudi Arabia; it hosts the US Naval Forces Central Command (USNAVCENT; established 1983), which includes the US 5th Fleet, several subordinate naval task forces, and the Combined Maritime Forces (established 2002), a coalition of more than 30 nations providing maritime security for regional shipping lanes; in 2003, the US granted Bahrain Major Non-NATO Ally status, a designation under US law that provides foreign partners with certain benefits in the areas of defense trade and security cooperation; Bahraini leaders have said that the security of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are “indivisible”; Saudi Arabia sent forces to Bahrain to assist with internal security following the 2011 uprising; Bahrain also has close security ties to other Gulf Cooperation Council countries, particularly Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the UK (2023)"
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}
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},
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"Space": {
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"Space agency/agencies": {
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"text": "Bahrain National Space Science Agency (NSSA; established 2014) (2023)"
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},
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"Space program overview": {
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"Space programs overview": {
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"text": "space program in nascent stages and is focused on developing the capabilities to build and operate satellites; the NSSA’s mission includes promoting space science, technology, and research, building capacity in the fields of satellite manufacturing, tracking, control, data processing and analysis, and remote sensing, developing space-related programs and space policy, and facilitating international cooperation; cooperates with a variety of foreign agencies and commercial entities, including those of India, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, the UK, and the UAE; also a member of the Arab Space Coordination Group, established by the UAE in 2019 (2023)"
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},
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"note": "<strong>note:</strong> further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in Appendix S"
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}
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},
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"Terrorism": {
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"Terrorist group(s)": {
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"text": "al-Ashtar Brigades; Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps/Qods Force",
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"text": "<p>the Maritime Administration of the US Department of Transportation has issued a Maritime Advisory (2023-003 - Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, Gulf of Oman, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, Bab al Mandeb Strait, Red Sea, and Somali Basin-Threats to Commercial Vessels) effective 23 February 2023, which states in part that \"Regional conflict, military activity, and political tensions pose threats to commercial vessels operating in the above listed geographic areas;\" Coalition Task Force (CTF) Sentinel has been established to provide escorts for commercial shipping transiting the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, and Gulf of Oman</p>"
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}
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},
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"Space": {
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"Space agency/agencies": {
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"text": "Iranian Space Agency (ISA; created in 2003 from merging the activities of the Iranian Remote Sensing Center and some of the activities of the Telecommunications Company of Iran); Iran Space Research Center (established, 2000); Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics; Aerospace Industries Organization (AIO; under the Ministry of Defense); Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Space Command (formed in 2020) (2023)"
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},
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"Space launch site(s)": {
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"text": "Imam Khomeini Space Center (aka Semnan Space Center; Semnan province); Shahroud Space Center (IGRC military base; Semnan Province); Qom Space Center (Qom Province); inaugurated its first space monitoring center located near Delijan (Markazi Province) in 2013 (2023)"
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},
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"Space program overview": {
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"Space programs overview": {
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"text": "has an ambitious civil and military space program focused on acquiring and operating satellites and developing indigenous space launch vehicles (SLV); designs, builds, and operates satellites, including communications, remote sensing (RS), and scientific; manufactures and operates SLVs; researching and developing other space-related capabilities and technologies in such areas as telecommunications, RS, navigation, and space situational awareness; UN Security Council and other international sanctions against Iran’s weapons of mass destruction program have severely limited Iran’s cooperation with foreign space agencies and commercial space industries; in recent years, however, it has cooperated with North Korea and Russia on space issues; Iran has also had relations with regional and international space organizations, such as the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization and the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization; it was a founding member of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) established in 1958 (2023)"
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},
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"note": "<strong>note:</strong> further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in Appendix S"
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}
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},
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"Terrorism": {
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"Terrorist group(s)": {
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"text": "Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)/Qods Force; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS); Jaysh al Adl (Jundallah); Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK); al-Qa’ida",
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"text": "the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) has operated in the Golan between Israel and Syria since 1974 to monitor the ceasefire following the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and supervise the areas of separation between the two countries; UNDOF consists of about 1,000 military personnel<br><br>the IDF is responsible for external defense but also has some domestic security responsibilities; its primary operational focuses include the threat posed by Iran, instability in Syria, and terrorist organizations, including HAMAS and Hizballah, both of which are backed by Iran, Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham; it has considerable experience in conventional and unconventional warfare; since the country’s founding in 1948, the IDF has been in conflicts against one or more of its Arab neighbors in 1948-49, 1956, 1967, 1967-70 (“War of Attrition”), 1973, 1982, and 2006; it bombed nuclear sites in Iraq in 1981 and Syria in 2007, and since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, has conducted numerous air strikes in Syria against Iranian, Iranian-backed militia, and Hizballah forces, and Syrian Government targets; over the same period, the IDF has carried out strikes against Hizballah in Lebanon in response to attacks on Israeli territory; these strikes followed an Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 2006, also to suppress Hizballah attacks; the IDF has conducted operations against HAMAS and PIJ, which operate out of the Gaza Strip and have launched numerous rocket attacks against Israel; HAMAS and Israel fought an 11-day conflict in 2021, which ended in an informal truce, although sporadic clashes continue; the IDF also has conducted security operations against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied territories of East Jerusalem and the West Bank<br><br>since its creation from armed Jewish militias in the midst of the First Arab-Israeli War in 1948-49, the IDF, particularly the Ground Force, has been guided by a requirement to rapidly mobilize and defend the country’s territory from numerically superior neighboring countries; the Ground Force has a relatively small active combat force of approximately 10 armored, mechanized infantry, paratrooper, and commandos/special forces brigades, plus an artillery corps, that is backed up by a large force of trained reserves—more than 400,000 personnel—that can be mobilized rapidly into dozens of combat brigades; the Ground Force also controls Israel’s ballistic missile force; the Air Force has approximately 250 modern US-made combat aircraft, as well as one of the world’s most advanced theater missile defense systems; the Navy is largely a coastal defense force with a small but growing and largely modern inventory; its primary surface warships are 7 German- and US-built corvettes, supplemented by a small flotilla of missile attack vessels and 6 German-made attack submarines<br><br>Israel’s primary security partner is the US; consistent with a 10-year (2019-2028) Memorandum of Understanding, the US annually provides over $3 billion in military financing and cooperative military programs, such as missile defense; the US also provides Israel access to US-produced military weapons systems including advanced fighter aircraft; Israel has Major Non-NATO Ally status with the US, a designation under US law that provides foreign partners with certain benefits in the areas of defense trade and security cooperation (2023)"
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}
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},
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"Space": {
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"Space agency/agencies": {
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"text": "Israel Space Agency (ISA; established 1983 under the Ministry of Science and Technology; origins go back to the creation of a National Committee for Space Research, established 1960); Ministry of Defense Space Department (2023)"
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},
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"Space launch site(s)": {
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"text": "Palmachim Airbase (Central district) (2023)"
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},
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"Space program overview": {
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"Space programs overview": {
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"text": "has one of the most advanced space programs in the region; designs, builds, and operates communications, remote sensing (RS), and scientific satellites; designs, builds, and operates sounding (research) rockets and orbital satellite/space launch vehicles (SLVs); launches satellites on domestic and foreign rockets; researches and develops a range of other space-related capabilities with a focus on lightweight and miniaturized technologies, including small satellites with high resolution RS imaging and communications capabilities; has relations with a variety of foreign space agencies and space industries, including those of Canada, the European Space Agency (and individual member states, such as France, Germany, and Italy), India, Japan, Mexico, and the US; has a substantial commercial space sector, including state-owned enterprises, in areas such as launchers, propulsion, satellite manufacturing, particularly micro- and nano-satellites, payloads and applications, RS, communications, and ground stations (2023)"
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},
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"note": "<strong>note:</strong> further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in Appendix S"
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}
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},
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"Terrorism": {
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"Terrorist group(s)": {
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"text": "Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS); Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine; Palestinian Islamic Jihad",
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"text": "Iraqi security forces (ISF), including conventional air and ground forces, are primarily focused on internal security duties; they are actively conducting counterinsurgency and counterterrorism operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS) terrorist group, particularly in northern and western Iraq; the Counter Terrorism Service (CTS), a highly regarded force comprised of three special forces brigades, is the ISF's principal operational unit against ISIS<br><br>Kurdish Security Forces (KSF, aka Peshmerga) also conducted operations against ISIS; the KSF were formally recognized as a legitimate Iraqi military force under the country’s constitution and have operated jointly with the Iraqi military against ISIS militants, but they also operate outside of Iraqi military command structure; since 2021, the ISF and the KSF have conducted joint counter-ISIS operations in an area known as the Kurdish Coordination Line (KCL), a swath of disputed territory in northern Iraq claimed by both the Kurdistan Regional Government and the central Iraqi Government; the KSF/Peshmerga report to the Kurdistan Regional Government or Kurdistan Democratic Party and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan parties instead of the Iraqi Ministry of Defense<br><br>Popular Mobilization Commission and Affiliated Forces (PMF or PMC), also known as Popular Mobilization Units (PMU, or al-Hashd al-Sha’abi in Arabic), tribal militia units have fought alongside the Iraqi military against ISIS since 2014, but the majority of these forces continue to largely ignore the 2016 Law of the Popular Mobilization Authority, which mandated that armed militias must be regulated in a fashion similar to Iraq’s other security forces and act under the Iraqi Government’s direct control; the Iraqi Government funds the PMF, and the prime minister legally commands it, but many of the militia units take orders from associated political parties and/or other government officials, including some with ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and some that have been designated as terrorist organizations by the US; the PMF/PMU is an umbrella organization comprised of many different militias, the majority of which are Shia: <br><br>--Shia militias backed by Iran; they are considered the most active and capable, and include such groups as the Badr Organization (Saraya al-Sala), Asaib Ahl al-Haq, and Kataib Hizballah <br><br>--Shia militias affiliated with Shia political parties, but not aligned with Iran, such as the Peace Brigades (Saray al-Salam) <br><br>--Shia militias not connected with political parties, but affiliated with the Najaf-based Grand Ayatollah Ali al-SISTANI (Iraq’s supreme Shia cleric), such as the Hawza militias<br><br>--other PMF/PMU militias include Sunni Tribal Mobilization militias, or Hashd al-Asha’iri; some of these militias take orders from the ISF and local authorities while others respond to orders from the larger Shia PMU militias; still other militias include Yazidi and Christian militias and the Turkmen brigades; the links of these forces to the PMU is not always clear-cut and may be loosely based on financial, legal, or political incentives<br><br>at the request of the Iraqi government, NATO agreed to establish an advisory, training and capacity-building mission for the Iraqi military in October 2018; as of 2022, the NATO Mission Iraq (NMI) had about 500 troops; in December 2021, the task force that leads the defeat ISIS mission in Iraq, Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR), transitioned from a combat role to an advise, assist, and enable role (2023)"
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}
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},
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"Space": {
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"Space agency/agencies": {
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"text": "announced in 2019 that the Iraqi Ministry of Communication was working with France to create a national space agency (2023)"
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},
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"Space program overview": {
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"Space programs overview": {
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"text": "stated purpose of current program is to acquire satellites for security, economic, agricultural, industrial, environmental and military purposes; status unclear (2023)"
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},
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"note": "<strong>note:</strong> further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in Appendix S"
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}
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},
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"Terrorism": {
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"Terrorist group(s)": {
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"text": "Ansar al-Islam; Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq; Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)/Qods Force; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS); Jaysh Rijal al-Tariq al-Naqshabandi; Kata'ib Hizballah; Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)",
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},
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"Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
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"refugees (country of origin)": {
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"text": "7,864 (West Bank and Gaza Strip) (mid-year 2022); 274,724 (Syria), 8,582 (Iran), 8,187 (Turkey) (2023)"
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||||
"text": "7,864 (West Bank and Gaza Strip) (mid-year 2022); 267,839 (Syria), 8,582 (Iran), 8,187 (Turkey) (2023)"
|
||||
},
|
||||
"IDPs": {
|
||||
"text": "1.17 million (displacement in central and northern Iraq since January 2014) (2023)"
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -1190,6 +1190,17 @@
|
|||
"text": "<p>the Maritime Administration of the US Department of Transportation has issued a Maritime Advisory (2023-003 - Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, Gulf of Oman, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, Bab al Mandeb Strait, Red Sea, and Somali Basin-Threats to Commercial Vessels) effective 23 February 2023, which states in part that \"Regional conflict, military activity, and political tensions pose threats to commercial vessels operating in the above listed geographic areas\"; Coalition Task Force (CTF) Sentinel has been established to provide escorts for commercial shipping transiting the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, and Gulf of Oman</p>"
|
||||
}
|
||||
},
|
||||
"Space": {
|
||||
"Space agency/agencies": {
|
||||
"text": "no government agency; the Government of Oman has established a limited liability company with the mission of spearheading a national satellite program initiative and building a national satellite communications infrastructure (2023)"
|
||||
},
|
||||
"Space program overview": {
|
||||
"Space programs overview": {
|
||||
"text": "has a nascent space program focused on the acquisition of satellites and satellite ground support infrastructure; contracts with foreign commercial companies for development of space capabilities, such as satellites and telecommunications infrastructure (2023)"
|
||||
},
|
||||
"note": "<strong>note:</strong> further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in Appendix S"
|
||||
}
|
||||
},
|
||||
"Transnational Issues": {
|
||||
"Disputes - international": {
|
||||
"text": "<p><em>Oman-Saudi Arabia</em>: none identified</p> <p><em>Oman-UAE</em>: boundary agreement reportedly signed and ratified with UAE in 2003 for entire border, including Oman's Musandam Peninsula and Al Madhah exclave, but details of the alignment have not been made public; Oman and UAE signed the final demarcation of their land border in 2008</p> <p><em>Oman-Yemen</em>: Oman and Yemen signed a border agreement in 1992; demarcation of their border was completed in 1995</p> <p> </p>"
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -1221,6 +1221,17 @@
|
|||
"text": "the Saudi Arabian Armed Forces (SAAF) are divided into the regular forces under the Ministry of Defense and the Saudi Arabian National Guard (SANG); the regular forces are responsible for territorial defense, although they can be called for domestic security duties if needed; they include land, naval, air, air defense, and strategic missile forces; the Land Forces have approximately 15 combat brigades which include a mix of armored, aviation, light infantry, mechanized or motorized infantry, royal guards, and airborne/special forces, plus separate battalions of artillery; the Naval Forces are undergoing a major acquisitions and modernization program; its principal warships are approximately 16 frigates and corvettes, with an additional 4 frigates on order; the Air Force is the largest and one of the most modern in the region, with over 350 combat aircraft from Europe and the US with more on order; the Strategic Missile Force manages Saudi Arabia’s ballistic missile inventory, largely acquired from China<br><br>the SANG is responsible for both internal security and external defense; its duties include protecting the royal family, guarding against military coups, defending strategic facilities and resources, and providing security for the cities of Mecca and Medina; the SANG is primarily comprised of tribal elements loyal to the Saud family and has at least 11 brigades of light infantry, mechanized/motorized infantry, and security forces; it is supplemented by combat helicopter units and tribal levies/militias known as Fowj<br><br>there are also large numbers of paramilitary forces under the Ministry of Interior, including Border Guards and the Facilities Security Force, as well as the Special Security Forces and Special Emergency Forces under the State Security Presidency<br><br>the US is Saudi Arabia’s closest security partner; the SAAF conducts bilateral exercises with the US military and hosts US forces; the US has participated in a cooperative program to equip and train the SANG since 1973; much of the equipment for both the regular forces and the SANG has been acquired from the US; Saudi Arabia also has defense relationships with China, France, India, the UK, and fellow Gulf Cooperation Council members<br><br>in 2015, Saudi Arabia led a military intervention into Yemen by a coalition of Arab states in support of the Republic of Yemen Government against the separatist Huthis; Saudi forces from both the Ministry of Defense and the SANG participated in combat operations in Yemen; Saudi Arabia also raised and equipped paramilitary/militia security forces in Yemen--based largely on tribal or regional affiliation--to deploy along the Saudi-Yemen border (2023)"
|
||||
}
|
||||
},
|
||||
"Space": {
|
||||
"Space agency/agencies": {
|
||||
"text": "Saudi Space Commission (SSC; established 2018); King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST; established 1977); KACST includes the Space and Aeronautics Research Institute (SARI; established 2000) (2023)"
|
||||
},
|
||||
"Space program overview": {
|
||||
"Space programs overview": {
|
||||
"text": "has one of the more advanced space programs in the region; manufactures and operates communications, remote sensing (RS), and scientific satellites; develops a range of satellite subsystems and payload technologies; SSC’s missions also include accelerating economic diversification, enhancing research and development, and raising private sector participation in the global space industry; is the main founder and financier of the Arab Satellite Communications Organization (Arabsat; launched in 1976; headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and the primary satellite communications service provider for over 170 million persons in the Arab world); cooperates with the space agencies and industries of a wide range of countries, including those of Belarus, China, the European Space Agency and its member states (particularly France, Germany, Greece, and Hungary), India, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Ukraine, the UAE, the UK, and the US; member of the Arab Space Cooperation Group (established by the UAE in 2019 and includes Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, and Sudan) (2023)"
|
||||
},
|
||||
"note": "<strong>note:</strong> further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in Appendix S"
|
||||
}
|
||||
},
|
||||
"Terrorism": {
|
||||
"Terrorist group(s)": {
|
||||
"text": "Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS); al-Qa’ida; al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)",
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -1163,6 +1163,17 @@
|
|||
"text": "the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) has operated in the Golan between Israel and Syria since 1974 to monitor the ceasefire following the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and supervise the areas of separation between the two countries; UNDOF has about 1,000 personnel <br><br>multiple actors are conducting military operations in Syria in support of the ASAD government or Syrian opposition forces, as well in pursuit of their own security goals, such counterterrorism; operations have included air strikes, direct ground combat, and sponsoring proxy forces, as well as providing non-lethal military support, including advisors, technicians, arms and equipment, funding, intelligence, and training:<br><br><strong>pro-ASAD elements</strong> operating in Syria have included<strong> the Syrian Arab Army, Lebanese Hizbollah, Iranian, Iranian-backed Shia militia, and Russian forces</strong>; since early in the civil war, the ASAD government has relied on Lebanese Hizballah (see Appendix T for further information), as well as Iran and Iranian-backed irregular forces, for combat operations and to hold territory; since 2011, Iran has provided military advisors and combat troops from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (including the Qods Force; see Appendix T for further information), as well as intelligence, logistical, material, technical, and financial support; it has funded, trained, equipped, and led Shia militia/paramilitary units comprised of both Syrian and non-Syrian personnel, primarily from Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan; Russia intervened at the request of the ASAD government in 2015 and has since provided air support, special operations forces, military advisors, private military contractors, training, arms, and equipment; Iranian and Russian support has also included assisting Syria in combating the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS; see Appendix T) terrorist group<br><br><strong>Turkey </strong>has intervened militarily several times since 2016 to combat Kurdish militants and ISIS, support select Syrian opposition forces, and establish a buffer along portions of its border with Syria; Turkey continues to maintain a considerable military presence in northern Syria; it has armed and trained militia/proxy forces, such as the Syrian National Army, which was formed in late 2017 of Syrian Arab and Turkmen rebel factions in the Halab (Aleppo) province and northwestern Syria<br><br>the <strong>US and some regional and European states</strong> have at times backed Syrian opposition forces militarily and/or conducted military operations, primarily against ISIS; the US has operated in Syria since 2015 with ground forces and air strikes; the majority the US ground forces are deployed in the Eastern Syria Security Area (ESSA, which includes parts of Hasakah and Dayr az Zawr provinces east of the Euphrates River) in support of operations by the Syrian Democratic Forces against ISIS, while the remainder are in southeast Syria around At Tanf supporting counter-ISIS operations by the Syrian Free Army opposition force; the US has also conducted air strikes against Syrian military targets in response to Syrian Government use of chemical weapons against opposition forces and civilians; in addition, France, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UK have provided forms of military assistance to opposition forces and/or conducted operations against ISIS, including air strikes<br><br><strong>Israel</strong> has conducted hundreds of military air strikes in Syria against Syrian military, Hizbollah, Iranian, and/or Iranian-backed militia targets<br><br>the<strong> Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)</strong>, a coalition of forces composed primarily of Kurdish, Sunni Arab, and Syriac Christian fighters; it is dominated and led by Kurdish forces, particularly the People’s Protection Units (YPG) militia; the SDF began to receive US support in 2015 and as of 2023 was the main local US partner in its counter-ISIS campaign; the SDF has internal security, counterterrorism, and commando units; Turkey views the SDF as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a US-designated terrorist organization (see Appendix T)<br><br>the <strong>ISIS</strong> terrorist group (see Appendix T) lost its last territorial stronghold to SDF forces in 2019, but continues to maintain a low-level insurgency; in addition, the SDF holds about 10,000 captured suspected ISIS fighters in detention facilities across northern Syria, including 2,000 from countries other than Iraq and Syria<br><br>the <strong>Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham </strong>(HTS; formerly known as al-Nusrah Front) terrorist organization (see Appendix T) is the dominant militant group in northwest Syria and asserted considerable influence and control over the so-called Syrian Salvation Government in the Iblib de-escalation zone and the Aleppo province (2023)"
|
||||
}
|
||||
},
|
||||
"Space": {
|
||||
"Space agency/agencies": {
|
||||
"text": "Syrian Space Agency (created in 2014); General Organization of Remote Sensing (GORS; established 1986 to replace the National Remote Sensing Center, established 1981) (2023)"
|
||||
},
|
||||
"Space program overview": {
|
||||
"Space programs overview": {
|
||||
"text": "status unclear; has been handicapped by the impact of the civil war, including the loss of students and scientists who fled the country; had previously focused on satellite development and related space technologies, as well as scientific research; has relations with the space agency and space industries of Russia (2023)"
|
||||
},
|
||||
"note": "<strong>note:</strong> further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in Appendix S"
|
||||
}
|
||||
},
|
||||
"Terrorism": {
|
||||
"Terrorist group(s)": {
|
||||
"text": "Abdallah Azzam Brigades; Ansar al-Islam; Asa’ib Ahl Al-Haq; Hizballah; Hurras al-Din; Islamic Jihad Union; Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)/Qods Force; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS); Kata'ib Hizballah; Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK); Mujahidin Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem; al-Nusrah Front (Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham); al-Qa'ida; Palestine Liberation Front; Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP); PFLP-General Command",
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -1274,6 +1274,20 @@
|
|||
"text": "Turkey has been a member of NATO since 1952 and hosts NATO's Land Forces Command in Izmir, as well as a NATO/US airbase at Incirlik and a NATO missile defense radar system in eastern Turkey<br><br>under a long-range (2033) strategic plan, the Turkish Armed Forces continues efforts to modernize its equipment and force structure; Turkish Land Forces are seeking to produce a 20-30% smaller, more highly trained force characterized by greater mobility and firepower and capable of joint and combined operations<br><br>the Turkish Navy is a regional naval power that seeks to develop the capability to project power beyond Turkey's coastal waters; it is planning to launch new frigates, submarines, and a light aircraft carrier/amphibious assault ship in the next few years, adding to its current force of about 16 frigates and 12 submarines; the Navy is heavily involved in NATO, multinational, and UN operations; its roles include control of territorial waters and security for sea lines of communications <br><br>the Turkish Air Force adopted an \"Aerospace and Missile Defense Concept\" in 2002 and is developing an integrated missile defense system; in a controversial move that complicated its relationship with NATO and the US, it purchased the Russian S-400 air defense system for an estimated $2.5 billion in 2019; Air Force priorities include attaining a modern deployable, survivable, and sustainable force structure, and establishing a sustainable command and control system <br><br>in recent years, Turkey has taken on a greater level of international peacekeeping responsibilities, including keeping a substantial force under NATO in Afghanistan until withdrawing in 2021; Turkey also has built expeditionary military bases in Qatar, Somalia, northern Cyprus, and Sudan<br><br>the military has a substantial stake in Turkey's economy through a holding company that is involved in the automotive, energy, finance, and logistics sectors, as well as iron and steel production (2023)"
|
||||
}
|
||||
},
|
||||
"Space": {
|
||||
"Space agency/agencies": {
|
||||
"text": "Turkish Space Agency (TUA; established 2018); TÜBİTAK Space Technologies Research Institute (UZAY; established in 1985 as Ankara Electronics Research and Development Institute); Turkish Space Systems, Integration and Test Center (USET) is a spacecraft production and testing facility owned by the Ministry of National Defense and operated by its subordinate Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) (2023)"
|
||||
},
|
||||
"Space launch site(s)": {
|
||||
"text": "rocket test launch site on the Black Sea in Sinop Province; the 2021 national space program called for the establishment of a space port; reportedly plans to build a rocket launch site in Somalia or use a sea-launch facility for future space launch vehicles (2023)"
|
||||
},
|
||||
"Space program overview": {
|
||||
"Space programs overview": {
|
||||
"text": "has an ambitious space program with a large focus on satellites, software development, ground station technologies, and building up the country’s space industries; in recent years has also initiated a space launch program with the goal of placing domestically produced satellites into orbit independently and a probe on the Moon; manufactures and operates remote sensing (RS) and telecommunications satellites, as well as satellite components; has a space/satellite launch vehicle program; space sector is heavily import-reliant, particularly at the component level; has established relations with more than 25 foreign space agencies and corporations, including those of Azerbaijan, China, France, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Russia, South Korea, Ukraine, and the US, as well as the European Space Agency; has state-owned rocket development and satellite communications companies (2023)"
|
||||
},
|
||||
"note": "<strong>note:</strong> further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in Appendix S"
|
||||
}
|
||||
},
|
||||
"Terrorism": {
|
||||
"Terrorist group(s)": {
|
||||
"text": "Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS); Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU); Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)/Qods Force; Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK); al-Qa'ida; Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C)",
|
||||
|
|
@ -1286,7 +1300,7 @@
|
|||
},
|
||||
"Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
|
||||
"refugees (country of origin)": {
|
||||
"text": "10,244 (Iraq) (mid-year 2022); 3,329,516 (Syria), 43,895 (Ukraine) (as of 13 July 2023) (2023)"
|
||||
"text": "10,244 (Iraq) (mid-year 2022); 3,312,209 (Syria), 43,955 (Ukraine) (as of 27 July 2023) (2023)"
|
||||
},
|
||||
"IDPs": {
|
||||
"text": "1.099 million (displaced from 1984-2005 because of fighting between the Kurdish PKK and Turkish military; most IDPs are Kurds from eastern and southeastern provinces; no information available on persons displaced by development projects) (2021)"
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
Loading…
Add table
Add a link
Reference in a new issue