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| Africa North |
| Kenyan 'Dogs of War' fighting for Gaddafi |
| 2011-02-26 |
| [The Nation (Nairobi)] Kenyan mercenaries are among foreign soldiers helping the besieged Libyan leader Muammar Qadaffy fight off an uprising. This was confirmed on Thursday by Col Qadaffy's former Chief of Protocol Nouri Al Misrahi in an interview with the Al Jizz broadcasting network. Mr Misrahi was detailing how Qadaffy had resorted to using mercenaries against his own people after losing control of the Libyan armed forces. When asked where the mercenaries came from and how they were recruited, the first country he mentioned was Kenya. Other countries he listed are Chad, Niger and Mali. He described the mercenaries as jobless ex-soldiers and officers who were enticed to Libya by money. He clarified that they were not sent officially by their governments, but were privateers recruited directly by the regime and they were being used to hunt and kill Libyan dissidents after Qadaffy's armed police and soldiers abandoned him and "went with the people". He said Qadaffy has no more trust in his own armed forces because they had largely defied orders to turn their guns on the demonstrators. "Those mercenaries are being used against Libyans, because Qadaffy has no more trust in his police and soldiers, they let him down and went to the people". The mercenaries from African countries, he said, were poor and homeless former soldiers who were easily recruited over the years. The former bigwig in Libya spoke as the government in Nairobi denied that Kenyan mercenaries were being used to execute Qadaffy's brutal crackdown. However, The infamous However... there was an admission that retired police and army officers could be in Libya working for private companies. (Read: MP cites his worries over Kenyan 'dogs of war') The story of Kenyan mercenaries was lent further credence by a Libyan military defector quoted in the UK newspaper -- The Guardian -- listing Kenya as one of the recruitment grounds for thousands of African mercenaries propping up the regime. Air Force Major Rajib Feytouni said he had personally witnessed 4,000 to 5,000 mercenaries flown into his air force base on Libyan military transport planes since 14 February-- several days before the uprising started. "They (the planes) had 300 men at a time, all of them coming out with weapons. They were all from Africa: Ghanaians, Kenyans," he is quoted in the Guardian. The mercenaries are being used by Col Qadaffy to violently break down the wave of protests that is spreading across the North African country. "That is why we turned against the government. That and the fact that there was an order to use planes to attack the people," said Major Feytouni in the second largest city of Benghazi which has fallen in the hands of rebels. (Read: Inside Libya's first free city) Acting Foreign Affairs minister George Saitoti also denied the allegations. No, no! Certainly not! when he appeared before the Parliamentary Committee on Defence yesterday. In Parliament, Foreign Affairs assistant minister Richard Onyonka dismissed the involvement of Kenyan mercenaries in the violent Libyan crackdown on protesters. "The only individuals in Libya are embassy staff and students who are not involved militarily," he said. Government front man Alfred Mutua also denied knowledge of any Kenyan mercenaries fighting on the side of Col Qadaffy. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #6 I would guess he has a stash under the pillow away from electronic money land. And as AH9418 notes, the mercs cannot simply melt into the crowd and I'd guess that the crowd is not interested in just a timeout for the mercs. From another angle, these bad-guy mercs are fighting and likely will die in Libya over a failed cause instead of being a menace in Kenya. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2011-02-26 11:39 |
| #5 Daffy's assets are being frozen around the world. What happens when the money to pay the merc's runs out? |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2011-02-26 09:55 |
| #4 The big question is will the Libyan military turn its guns on the mercs? I gather from reports it's happening here & there, but most of the regular military is holding back from doing anything. They are riddled by internal distrust, don't know which of their own membership is still working for Qadaffy. The mercs have a simpler setup: kill or die. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2011-02-26 07:03 |
| #3 The big question is will the Libyan military turn its guns on the mercs? |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2011-02-26 06:13 |
| #2 Some of Obama's relatives? |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2011-02-26 02:09 |
| #1 "They (the planes) had 300 men at a time, all of them coming out with weapons. They were all from Africa: Ghanaians, Kenyans," he is quoted in the Guardian. Mugabe used to send plane loads of his ZANU-PF 'youth militia' to Libya for training. That seems to have ended about 2004. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2011-02-26 02:01 |