Since mid-19th century, the peoples of Africa have been suffering from endless wars, whether civil wars pitting the citizens of the same country against each other or armed conflicts involving neighboring countries over borders originally drawn by European colonial powers.
After gaining independence, African countries found themselves struggling with internal squabbles, with various religious, ethnic and political groups jockeying for control.
These wars could have largely been averted but for the role played by mercenaries in fueling conflicts. The mercenary business amounts to a dangerous terrorist phenomenon. If not challenged, it could have devastating effects on the future of Africa.
Since the start of the era of independence in the 1960s and until the mid-1980s, the recruitment of mercenaries was conducted clandestinely. After that date, mercenaries are invited openly to work in Africa with conscription taking place over the Internet. This led to the emergence of multinational security firms all over the world.
A retired mercenary with military experience once described their work as “very dangerous because if a mercenary were not killed he would end up being captured”. If arrested, the mercenary would find no one to help him since he would be operating without a name or identity, he said. Those who employed mercenaries, whether government or rebel groups, would deny any responsibility. The worst thing is to fight in a foreign country for a cause you know nothing about, but is nevertheless worth trying because you could make a fortune, he said.
In the end, mercenaries kill for money. What they are doing is terrorism, pure and simple. It is unfortunate that many multinational companies are currently engaged in this kind of business using different names and operating under contracts with whoever wishes to wage a war or support one group against another. This kind of activity is against the interests of the helpless African peoples.
The mercenary work in Africa is no longer conducted in secret or viewed as criminal as in the past. It is being practiced openly as some kind of legitimate business. Following the collapse of the apartheid system in South Africa, a multinational firm was set up in that country. It is now possible for this and many other companies to employ as many as 120,000 trained and highly qualified members, of whom 3,500 belong to the Angolan rebel movement, UNITA.
The South African company was said to have netted $40m for its services in Angola over a period of two and half years in addition to securing concessions in the country’s oil and diamond fields. The same company was also involved in the conflict in Sierra Leone. The activities of this and other companies are limited to recruiting mercenaries, launching guerrilla wars, spying on government leaders and the opposition to prepare for their assassination, illegally smuggle weapons and military systems from Europe and train government and rebel forces. They are also involved in sabotage and launching counter political campaigns. All these are terrorist activities.
The increased activities of companies recruiting mercenaries in Africa have devastating effects. It has put a break on ambitious development projects in many African countries. It also denied the peoples of the continent the opportunity to live in peace and stability and build their countries. It has plunged Africa into a continuing state of instability after decades of colonial rule.
The huge profits gained by this mercenary business, whether the activities are conducted by individual companies or through multinational firms, mean that containing and eventually eliminating this industry would prove an extremely, though not an impossible, task.
If the world is united in standing up to the secret mercenary wars in Africa as well as the mercenary activities being carried out by the multinational firms I believe it would be possible to rid the world of this menace. The campaign against mercenaries can be incorporated into the global war against terrorism,
The campaign to eliminate mercenary activity would require less effort than the fight against international terrorist organizations calls for.
If this could be achieved, then we would spare Africa the depressing cycle of wars and armed conflicts and help achieve the security and stability needed for the development of the continent. Eliminating poverty in Africa and other countries would reflect positively on the world economy.
