5th Spetsnaz Brigade

The 5th Spetsnaz Brigade is a special forces brigade of the Armed Forces of Belarus, formerly part of the Soviet Spetsnaz GRU.

History

It was formed at Maryina Gorka, Minsk Oblast, 1 January 1963 as the 5th Special Forces Brigade GRU. It initially had two battalions. On 3 April 1978 renamed 5th independent Special Forces Brigade GRU.[1] Took the oath of allegance to Belarus on 31 December 1992, now part of the Special Forces of Belarus (ru:Силы специальных операций ВС РБ) along with two brigades formerly part of the 103rd Guards Airborne Division.

Belarusian Army Spetsnaz

Belarus's units conduct joint exercises with the Armed Forces of Russia in which the nation's special forces participate extensively. Belarus's ruling party has been accused of using its special forces to assassinate opposition leaders.[2][3]

Army special operations forces include:[4]

There are units to perform the tasks of particular importance:

KGB of Belarus

KGB of Belarus is the national intelligence agency that was formed from the inherited personnel and operators after the break up of the Soviet Union. KGB of Belarus has its own Spetsgruppa "A" (Alpha Group), which is the country's primary counter-terrorism unit.

References

  1. ↑ Michael Holm, 5th independent Special Forces Brigade, accessed 2014.
  2. ↑ "Belarus: Special Forces Again Implicated In Opposition Disappearances". Radio Free Europe. 28 Aug 2001.
  3. ↑ "Pskov paratroopers and Belarus special forces to conduct manoeuvres in April". EN-TAS. 2 Apr 2014.
  4. ↑ http://www.mil.by/en/forces/sso/

External links