GSI-GR explained

Unit Name:Royal Gendarmerie Security and Intervention Group
Native Name:French: Groupement de Sécurité et d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Royale
Arabic: فرقة الامن والتدخل للدرك الملكي
Dates:1987 – present
Country: Morocco
Agency:Royal Moroccan Gendarmerie
Type:Police tactical unit
Headquarters:near Temara, Morocco
Motto:يعيش الملك
Motto Translated:Long Live the King
Abbreviation:GSI-GR
Sworn:≈ 100 operators
Notable Commanders:Maj-Gen Mohamed Haramou

The GSI-GR[1] (; ;), also known as the GSI and previously known as the GIGR,[2] is the elite police tactical unit of the Royal Moroccan Gendarmerie. Among its missions are counterterrorism, hostage rescue, close protection, aerial surveillance, maritime control, disaster response and combatting organized crime.[3] [4] [5]

Founded in 1987 and led by a colonel-major, the unit's headquarters are confidential, located between Skhirat and Témara.[6] [7] [8] The GSI-GR corps has around a hundred members and is shrouded in secrecy, with its missions, always sensitive, being kept secret. However, the unit has occasionally opened up to the media.

Members are chosen from the Meknes Royal Military Academy and are transferred to the Royal School of Gendarmerie in Marrakesh, with only cadets showing "exceptional physical and mental abilities" are transferred to the GSI-GR. The unit is deployed on direct orders from the gendarmerie's general command and is organized to respond urgently to all types of terrorist threats and to restore public order.[9] [10]

In 1988, the GIGR rescued nine French speleologists in the Win-Timdouine cave after a three day long rescue operation which involved delivering aid, which is one of the biggest underground systems in Africa.[11]

In April 2007, the GIGR launched a raid in Casablanca against suspected terrorist cells which resulted in the death of a police officer, three militants detonating their suicide vests and a fourth being shot dead by police. In 2010, following the events in Gdeim Izik, the GIGR arrested numerous sympathizers of the Polisario Front.[12]

In 2024, the GSI-GR participated in the Kuwait SWAT Elite International Competition and ranked #15.[13]

Organisation

GIGR is composed of the following units:

Equestrian and paratrooper units

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2024-02-15 . الأمن والتدخل للدرك الملكي GSI-GRj تشارك في فعاليات مسابقة النخبة العالمية المقامة بالكويت . 2024-04-18 . صحيفة إلكترونية عينكم على المغرب - K36 . ar.
  2. Web site: Teams – Kseic . 2024-04-18 . en-US.
  3. Web site: Grand Angle: Au cœur des Unités Spécialisées de la Gendarmerie Royale . Wide Angle: At the heart of the Specialized Units of the Royal Gendarmerie . 2023-11-15 . 2M.ma . fr.
  4. Web site: La gendarme Imane Jaouharan, une adepte du tir sportif dévouée au service de la Patrie . Gendarme Imane Jaouharan, a sports shooting enthusiast dedicated to the service of the Fatherland . 2023-11-16 . MAP Express . fr-FR.
  5. 2022-12-01 . La clôture, des prix et des trophées aux plus distingués . The closing, prizes and trophies for the most distinguished . Revue des Forces Armées Royales . 413 . 51 . fr.
  6. Web site: 2012-08-19 . Gendarmerie royale. L’armée à tout faire . Royal Gendarmerie. The all-purpose army . 2023-11-15 . Telquel.ma . fr.
  7. Web site: 2012-02-22 . Confidentiel . Confidential . 2023-11-16 . Telquel.ma . fr.
  8. News: 1989-08-25 . Spéléo: Secours sans frontière . Caving: Rescue without borders . Le Bien Public . fr.
  9. Web site: Antiterrorisme: des gendarmes formés aux Etats-Unis pour protéger les sites sensibles . Anti-terrorism: gendarmes trained in the United States to protect sensitive sites . 2023-11-16 . Le 360 Français . fr.
  10. Web site: Moroccan Gendarmerie Royale . 2023-11-16 . FIEP . en-US.
  11. Web site: Saber . Majda . 2011-04-14 . Win-Timdouine: La grotte aux mille merveilles . Win-Timdouine: The cave of a thousand wonders . 2023-11-16 . Aujourd'hui le Maroc . fr-FR.
  12. Web site: Soudan . François . 2010-11-18 . Sahara: jours de fièvre . Sahara: days of fever . 2023-11-16 . JeuneAfrique.com . fr-FR.
  13. Web site: التومي . علي . 2024-02-15 . فرقة الامن والتدخل للدرك الملكي تشارك في مسابقة النخبة بالكويت . 2024-04-18 . زنقة 20 . ar.