Unity Resources Group

Unity Resources Group
Private Company
Industry Security, Consulting
Founded 2000
Founder Gordon Conroy
Headquarters Singapore, Singapore
Website http://www.unityresourcesgroup.com/

Unity Resources Group is an Australian-owned[1] private military and security consulting company.

Background

Unity Resources Group (Unity) was established in Australia in 2000 and operates across the core markets of Australia, Africa, The Americas, the Middle East, Central Asia and Europe.[2]

It describes itself as having a "diverse client base, spanning government, non-government and multi-national business sectors".[3]

With the conclusion of the war in Iraq in 2003, Unity developed the business from a small consultancy through to independently winning and managing a number of large contracts with multi-national corporates and government agencies which continue to be serviced by Unity today.

The company is mainly staffed by Australian nationals.[4] However, in 2010 most of the guard duties at the Australian embassy in Baghdad were being done by Chilean military veterans.[5]

Unity is a member of the International Stability Operations Association, and was a member of the Private Security Company Association of Iraq before that organisation dissolved in 2011.[6]

Services

Unity is an integrated risk mitigation solutions provider for clients in complex, challenging and fragile environments globally.[7]

It offers the following services:[8]

Unity has partnered with Tokio Marine HCC to provide its Kidnap and Ransom policyholders with crisis response services on a worldwide basis.[9]

Subsidiary Companies

Australia

Asia

Middle East

Africa

Europe

Incidents

On January 17, 2007, American aid worker Andrea "Andi" Parhamovich and three of her URG guards were killed when their convoy was ambushed by insurgents in the Baghdad neighborhood of Yarmouk. Parhamovich was returning from a meeting at Iraqi Islamic Party headquarters when the well-planned attack occurred. There had been three reported attacks in and around Yarmouk in the previous five days.[10]

On October 9, 2007, employees of the company shot at an approaching car in Baghdad. Two civilian women, both in the front seat, were killed: Marou Awanis, 48, a mother of three, and Genevia Askander, 30.[11] The shooting has provoked strong outrage in Iraq, since it follows closely on the Blackwater Baghdad shootings of September 16, 2007 that led to the Iraqi government's attempt to ban Blackwater from Iraq.[12] Both women have been identified as Armenian Christians.[13][14]

The company defends the actions of its employees who fired over nineteen rounds of ammunition before speeding away from the scene and has since been cleared of any wrongdoing.[15][16] Unity is the security provider for USAID contractor RTI International. RTI was however not the client under protection when the shooting occurred.[17] The passengers in the back seat, including one child, survived the incident.[12]

In March 2006, a Unity employee was blamed in the shooting of a 72-year-old Australian at a checkpoint in Baghdad.[17] The victim, Professor Kays Juma, had been a resident of Baghdad for 25 years and drove through the city every day. It was alleged that he sped up his vehicle as he approached the guards.[18]

In May 2016, a bodyguard died at the Australian embassy in Baghdad when he was shot in the head. A colleague was allowed to fly back to Australia after being interviewed by Australian Federal Police. Both men were former Australian soldiers employed by URG. [19] [20] [21]

References

  1. ↑ Security company Unity Resources Group defends shooting by Mary Dunn, Herald Sun (Australia), October 11, 2007.
  2. ↑ "International Development – Unity Resources Group". devex.com. 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
  3. ↑ About Unity from the Unity Resource Group website.
  4. ↑ Dubai security firm admits to latest Iraq shooting, ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Co.) & Reuters, Oct 10, 2007
  5. ↑ Mendes, Jessicah; Mitchell, Scott (15 September 2010). "Chilean mercenaries guarding Australian embassy". ABC News. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  6. ↑ "Home – Unity Resources Group". Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  7. ↑ "International Development – Unity Resources Group". devex.com. 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
  8. ↑ "Unity Resources Group | Risk Management". unityresourcesgroup.com. 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  9. ↑ "Tokio Marine HCC | Specialty Insurance".
  10. ↑ Hastings, Michael (2008). I Lost My Love In Baghdad (First ed.). New York, NY: Scribner. p. 216. ISBN 978-1-4165-6097-5.
  11. ↑ McNeill, Sophie (21 November 2007). "The Killing of Mary Awanis". Special Broadcasting Service (Australia). Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  12. 1 2 Aussies in Iraqi firing line by Tom Allard and Craig Skehan, The Sydney Morning Herald, October 11, 2007.
  13. ↑ 2 Women Killed in Security Shooting Are Buried in Iraq by Andre E. Kramer and James Glanz, The New York Times, October 11, 2007.
  14. ↑ Private security guards kill two Iraqi Christian women, Daily News wire services, Oct. 10, 2007.
  15. ↑ Security company Unity Resources Group defends shooting by Mary Dunn, Herald Sun (Australia),October 11, 2007.
  16. ↑ Threat Levels by Daniel Politi, Slate, Oct. 10, 2007.
  17. 1 2 Funeral for 2 Slain in Security Shooting by Qassim Abdul-Zahra, Associated Press, October 10, 2007.
  18. ↑ "Australia withdraws troops guarding Iraq embassy". ABC News. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  19. ↑ Wroe, David; Murdoch, Lindsay (18 May 2016). "Former commando Sun McKay bound for Australia as investigation into embassy shooting death continues". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  20. ↑ Welch, Dylan (18 May 2016). "Baghdad embassy shooting: Bodyguard found at scene of suspicious death en route to Australia". ABC News. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  21. ↑ Greene, Andrew (21 May 2016). "Baghdad embassy shooting: URG lashes out at critics following bodyguard's death". ABC News. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
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