Unity Resources Group is an Australian-owned private military company

Private military company

A private military company or provides military and security services. These combatants are commonly known as mercenaries, though modern-day PMCs refer to their staff as security contractors, private military contractors or private security contractors, and refer to themselves as private military...

 headquartered in Dubai

Dubai

Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...

, United Arab Emirates

United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...

, founded in 2000, which describes itself as having a "diverse client base, spanning government, non-government and multi-national business sectors." The company is mainly staffed by Australian nationals and is a member of the Private Security Company Association of Iraq

Private Security Company Association of Iraq

The Private Security Company Association of Iraq is a not-for-profit organization formed and maintained to discuss and address matters of mutual interest and concern to the industry conducting private security functions in Iraq...

 (PSCAI) and the International Peace Operations Association

International Peace Operations Association

The International Stability Operations Association , formerly known as the International Peace Operations Association , is a 501 non-profit trade association. Founded in April 2001, IPOA was created to support the private military industry and is based in Washington, D.C....

 (IPOA).

Background

Unity Resources Group (Unity) is an integrated risk mitigation solutions provider for clients in complex, challenging and fragile environments globally. The group was established in Australia in 1996 and today operates across the core markets of Australia, Africa, The Americas, the Middle East, Central Asia and Europe.

Services

Unity Resources Group currently offers the following services:

• Risk and Secuity Services
• Procurement and Logistics
• Aviation Services
• Medical Services
• Executive Services

Subsidiary Companies

Australia

• Unit Resources Group Pty Ltd

• Unity Risk Pty Ltd

• Unity Protection Services Pty Ltd

• Australian Events Protection (WA) Pty Ltd

• Unity Executive Services (Aust) Pty Ltd

• UnityQube Pty Ltd

Asia

• Unity Resources Pakistan Pvt Ltd

• PT URG

• Unity Resources Group (Hong Kong) Ltd

• Unity Resources Group Pte Ltd

Middle East

• Unity Resources Group Pte Ltd – Dubai Branch

• Unity OSG FZE

Africa

• Unity Resources Group (Kenya) Ltd

• Unit Resources Medical Services Southern Sudan Ltd

• Unity Resources Support Services Southern Sudan Ltd

Europe

• Unity Resources Group UK Ltd

• Unity Aviation Ltd

Incidents

On October 9, 2007, employees of the company shot at an approaching car in Baghdad

Baghdad

Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...

. Two civilian

Civilian

A civilian under international humanitarian law is a person who is not a member of his or her country's armed forces or other militia. Civilians are distinct from combatants. They are afforded a degree of legal protection from the effects of war and military occupation...

 women, both in the front seat, were killed: Marou Awanis, 48, a mother of three, and Genevia Askander, 30. The shooting has provoked strong outrage in Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

, since it follows closely on the Blackwater Baghdad shootings

Blackwater Baghdad shootings

On September 16, 2007, Blackwater military contractors allegedly shot and killed 17 Iraqi civilians in Nisour Square, Baghdad. The fatalities occurred while a Blackwater Personal Security Detail was clearing the way for a convoy of US State Department vehicles en route to a meeting in western...

 of September 16, 2007 that led to the Iraqi government's attempt to ban Blackwater from Iraq. Both women have been identified as Armenian

Armenians

Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....

 Christians

Armenian Apostolic Church

The Armenian Apostolic Church is the world's oldest National Church, is part of Oriental Orthodoxy, and is one of the most ancient Christian communities. Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as its official religion in 301 AD, in establishing this church...

.

The company defends the actions of its employees who fired over nineteen rounds of ammunition before speeding away from the scene. URG is the security provider for USAID contractor RTI International

RTI International

RTI International is the trade name of the Research Triangle Institute, an independent research institute established in 1958. The founding tenant of North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park, RTI was created as part of a larger effort to harness the intellectual capital of the area’s three major...

. RTI was however not the client under protection when the shooting occurred. The passengers in the back seat, including one child, survived the incident.

In March 2006, a URG employee was blamed in the shooting of a 72-year-old Australian at a checkpoint in Baghdad. 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.