A report has revealed that the British Special Air Service and the European country’s other special forces have carried out operations clandestinely in Nigeria and 18 other nations for the past 12 years.
This was corroborated by an incident in 2012 when a group of SBS commandos attempted and failed to rescue a Briton and an Italian held by an Islamist group in Nigeria.
The British SAS also engaged in covert operations in Algeria, Estonia, France, Oman, Iraq, Kenya, Libya, Mali, Cyprus, Pakistan, Somalia, the Philippines, Russia, Syria, Ukraine, Yemen and most recently Sudan.
The UK Special Forces provided non-combat support during French military action against jihadi groups in Mali.
According to the Guardian UK, the elite military units do not possess the UK ministers publicly certifying their operations, thus, they operate covertly.
But, based on media leaks, a research organisation called ‘Action on Gun Violence’ has compiled a list of their operations from 2011, the AOAV added in a May 23, 2023 report titled, “Britain’s Special Forces on service in at least 19 countries since 2011”.
It provides the impression that the prime minister and defence secretary frequently send personnel of the SAS, Special Boat Service, and Special Reconnaissance Regiment on dangerous operations, usually when Britain is not at war.
The lengthy list of deployments, according to the report’s authors, happened despite a lack of control.
The operation, according to the Ministry of Defence also included troops of the Royal Marines, the RAF, and the Parachute Regiment, although it omitted special forces.
