The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) remains in flux following the region-wide unrest which took place throughout 2011, and continues into 2012. The “Arab Spring” manifested itself in different ways: largely following the same pattern of calls for reform, transparency and greater representation, through protests, strikes and even armed insurrection. In some cases this led to the downfall of authoritarian regimes which had dominated the political landscape of the region for decades. In others it created a ‘Pandora’s box’ which now cannot and will not be closed.

Libya became the first country in the region to achieve regime change, albeit through military conflict. Egypt and Tunisia have achieved a change to their leadership, first through sustained protests and later through ‘free’ elections (November 2011 and October 2011 respectively). Meanwhile, calls for reform persist in Morocco and Algeria as well as across the majority of the Gulf States (Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia). Mass violent government crackdowns continue throughout Syria (as the SNC seek international support to remove al-Assad), Yemen (during a security void ahead of elections being organised following Saleh leaving office) and Bahrain (as the one-year anniversary of the start of opposition protests passes with renewed daily protests).

Elsewhere, countries such as Iran (which is gearing up for elections in March 2012), Iraq (adapting after the US troop withdrawal), Israel and Lebanon dealing with their own domestic political problems, in addition to being impacted by the unrest in neighbouring countries. In short, the majority of states continue to experience a transition period in 2012, and it is as yet unclear as to the future direction their revised or new governments may take.                                  

        The Inkerman Group                   The Inkerman Group

THE INKERMAN GROUP IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA

Since the beginning of the turmoil, The Inkerman Group has continued to provide a wide spectrum of services to its clients throughout the region – working with them to minimise the risk to the safety of both their staff and assets, and reduce the disruption caused to their business operations.

The Inkerman Group has multiple operational teams in the region and is providing a wide range of services:

Discreet Security Protection Personnel (use of ex-UK police and military personnel, complete with communications support, GPS tracking and medical trauma equipment for first line support to clients).

Security and Contingency Planning:

Intelligence monitoring and reporting throughout the region:

In-country operations supported by:

Crisis Management Training and support

Security Awareness Training to workers and families (delivered in multiple languages and including elements of basic self-defence, medical awareness training as well as basic security driver awareness training)

Security Training to locally employed / retained security guards to include development of operating protocols in line with clients’ operating stance.

For further details of these services, please contact operations@inkerman.com

The Inkerman Group's Corporate Intelligence department provides timely and comprehensive analysis of political, economic and security developments allowing organisations to remain well informed about current and potential threats.

MENA Examiner - a weekly publication which is a predictive move aimed at mapping out the threats and risks facing clients across the region. It includes weekly trend reports detailing the situation to date and the way ahead for each country in the eighteen member region, from Morocco in the West to Iran in the East. The document provides an assessment of developments taking place across the region, providing travellers and businesses operating in these countries with a comprehensive overview of the risk level alongside predictive analysis of the potential outcomes.