Event:
15th February: Armed forces from at least 20 countries are gathered in northern Saudi Arabia for the most important military maneuver ever mounted in the region.
Summary:
The exercise dubbed ‘The Thunder of the North’ will comprise ground, air and naval forces which is aimed at sending a clear message of the preparedness of all Riyadh and its allies in confronting all challenges and preserving peace and stability in the region.
Saudi Arabia has been on the frontline in the fight against militants; among then a military campaign against the Iran-back rebels in Yemen, a 35-member coalition to fight terrorism in Islamic Countries as well as being a member of the US-Led coalition against ISIS.
The military exercise will be the scene of high-tech military presence and details of its official commencement dates and duration span are yet to be released.
Among the twenty countries involved are; Saudi Arabia’s 5 partners in the Gulf Cooperation Council, Chad, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Malaysia, Pakistan, Senegal, Tunisia among others.
All members of the coalition will gather for the first official meeting in Riyadh next month from where they will announce their manifesto.
The ‘Thunder of the North’ coalition will share intelligence, combat violent ideology and extremism and deploy forces to areas to combat any uprising when need arises.
Saudi Arabia and her allies; regional, from the west and Africa have been working jointly in attempts to eradicate the Islamic State, its affiliates and other terrorist organization in a bid to install order and peace in the affected countries like Yemen and the recent deployment of its fighter jets to Turkey to fight in the war in Syria.
