Forum for Private Security Research

20/02/2023

https://warontherocks.com/2023/02/mercenary-shocks-what-the-war-in-ukraine-will-eventually-mean-for-africa/

At some point the war in Ukraine will end, and when it does, the resulting influx of mercenaries will send shockwaves through Africa. As the current

25/03/2022

“Another 18,000 men had registered with Syria's ruling Baath party and would be screened by the Wagner Group, a Russian private military contractor with links to the Kremlin, the monitor said.”

Russia has drawn up lists of 40,000 fighters from Syrian army and allied militias to be put on standby for deployment in Ukraine, a war monitor said Tuesday.

18/03/2022

"A new law bans former U.S. spies from hiring themselves out to foreign governments right after they stop working for Washington. The legislation, signed into law by President Biden on Tuesday as part of a $1.5 trillion spending bill, prohibits U.S. intelligence officials with knowledge of spycraft and national security secrets from selling their services to other countries for 30 months after retiring. Representative Joaquin Castro (D-TX) introduced the legislation to address issues raised in a 2019 investigation that showed that former National Security Agency hackers helped the United Arab Emirates spy on journalists, dissidents, and other Americans. The new law, which applies to all U.S. intelligence agencies, will also require former intelligence officials to report any foreign government work to the U.S. intelligence community and Congress for five years after they leave service. “We don’t want our best trained intel officers going straight into the hands of foreign governments for the sake of money,” Castro said, adding, “This discourages intelligence mercenaries and protects our national interest.”

A new law bans the United States' former spies from hiring themselves out to foreign governments right after they stop working for Washington.

01/03/2022

"The United Nations is investigating the alleged killing of dozens of people in the Central African Republic last week by CAR forces and mercenaries with the Russian private military company Wagner. More than 30 civilians were reportedly killed, some by stray bullets, in the January 16-17 operation near the town of Bria that targeted the Union for Peace rebel group."

UN official says the body is investigating the incident involving CAR troops and ‘other security personnel’.

01/03/2022

"Private military contractors (PMCs) were vital to the survival of Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province before the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and Rwanda deployed in mid-2021 to combat insurgents, maintains Lionel Dyck, head of Dyck Advisory Group (DAG)."

Private military contractors (PMCs) were vital to the survival of Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province before the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and Rwanda deployed in mid-2021 to combat insurgents, maintains Lionel Dyck, head of Dyck Advisory Group (DAG). Speaking at a recent defence...

28/02/2022

"The Wagner Group—a Russian private military company (PMC) linked to the Kremlin, Ministry of Defense (particularly the Main Intelligence Directorate, or GRU), and Federal Security Service (FSB)—has arrived in Mali with the support of the Russian armed forces. This deployment, which reportedly began in December 2021, has been condemned by Mali’s international partners including the United States and numerous European countries."

The Wagner Group—a Russian private military company (PMC) linked to the Kremlin, Ministry of Defense (particularly the Main Intelligence Directorate, or GRU), and Federal Security Service (FSB)—has arrived in Mali with the support of the Russian armed forces. This deployment, which reportedly be...

04/02/2022

"With slim pickings in the Middle East after a Western withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan, Africa is the new feeding ground for private military and security companies (PMSC). And despite the negative consequences for locals, the mercenary business is booming."

With slim pickings in the Middle East after a Western withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan, Africa is the new feeding ground for private military and security companies (PMSC).

04/02/2022

A step too far: how the ICoCA actions could unintentionally help to privatise war (Part Two)

Christopher Kinsey, Defence Studies Department, King’s College London and Col. Christopher Mayer (U.S. Army Retd) Changes to the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Service Providers…

04/02/2022

A step too far: how the ICoCA actions could unintentionally help to privatise war (Part One)

Christopher Kinsey, Defence Studies Department, King’s College London and Col. Christopher Mayer (U.S. Army Retd) This is the first of a two-part piece. In December 2021, the International Code of …

28/01/2022

“Putting the onus of waste, fraud, and corruption in Afghanistan and Iraq on the contracting industry, therefore, is not accurate, especially when it is the US government that has structured the parameters in which such “waste, fraud, and abuse” could take place.”

Having recently completed my PhD at King’s College London on the US government’s use of contractors to train partner militaries, my interest was piqued when

24/01/2022

"Ukraine’s military intelligence service said on Friday that Russia was sending mercenaries into rebel-held territories in eastern Ukraine, along with tanks, mobile artillery units and 7,000 tons of fuel, raising fears of military escalation in the region."

The claim of soldiers for hire joining Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine adds fuel to fears that Moscow will start a new offensive.

21/01/2022

"A newly declassified report that warned the Afghan Air Force would collapse without U.S. support underscores the military’s reliance on contractors to operate and maintain sophisticated weapons. The year-old report was released Tuesday amid multiple government investigations of the Biden administration’s withdrawal of all U.S. troops and thousands of Afghans from Afghanistan."
https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/audits/SIGAR-21-14-AR.pdf