Simulation exercise helps Turkmenistan’s agencies protect soft targets

Public places such as markets, transport hubs, places of worship and entertainment venues are easily accessible and vulnerable to terrorist attacks. The open and accessible nature of these spaces, also called soft targets, makes them attractive to violent actors who seek to maximize casualties and garner media attention. 

In order to help protect public spaces in Turkmenistan, on 1 and 2 December 2025 the OSCE Transnational Threats Department and the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat organized in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan a tabletop scenario exercise simulating a terrorist attack on a school, which brought together practitioners from across the Government including law enforcement, emergency services and authorities responsible for the security and management of schools and other public spaces. 

Participants worked through a dynamic and evolving scenario, engaging in joint decision-making and exchanging information to determine appropriate responses. 

“The course helps a relevant audience from various Turkmen government agencies and society to develop a better understanding, collect best practices from Turkmenistan and identify opportunities for improvement,” highlighted Bernd Heinze, Ambassador of Germany to Turkmenistan.

It is the second activity implemented in Turkmenistan under the OSCE’s extrabudgetary Project PROTECT designed to help protect vulnerable targets across the OSCE area through enhanced co-operation and capacity-building at national and regional levels. 

“The journey that we have undertaken through contribution to the implementation of Project PROTECT activities in Turkmenistan is important for the security of host nation, the Central Asia region, the OSCE area and the world as a whole. I am confident that the table-top exercise simulating the attack and responsive measures will be instrumental in upgrading skills and improving co-ordination between the law enforcement and other government structures for better protection of soft targets,” said Rune Castberg, Project Co-ordinator of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat. 

Experts guided participants through discussions on threat assessment, crisis management, public-private co-operation, victim support and other important dimensions of soft targets protection. The exercise format provided agencies with an opportunity to test existing plans, identify vulnerabilities and improve co-ordination mechanisms.

The event builds on the Project PROTECT National Awareness-raising Workshop on Soft Targets Protection from Terrorist Attacks held in Ashgabat on 1 and 2 April 2025. It is the second activity implemented in Turkmenistan under the OSCE’s extrabudgetary Project PROTECT. This Project is funded by the Governments of Germany and the United States, with this event supported by Germany.