Tag: mercenaries

The Hostile Takeover of Gaza Relief

With over half a million people in Gaza on the brink of starvation and aid groups warning of an “imminent famine,” Israel has agreed to allow a token number of relief trucks into the besieged enclave. But what’s entering Gaza now isn’t humanitarian aid, it’s a Trojan horse.

A new, U.S.-backed private aid scheme staffed by former C.I.A. operatives, ex-Marines, and mercenaries tied to Israeli intelligence and Wall Street elites has been deployed in Gaza under the guise of relief. The project is led by a shady NGO registered in Switzerland just months ago, and human rights groups are calling it what it is: a hostile corporate takeover of the aid sector, designed to militarize relief, displace civilians and profit from Gaza’s agony.

At the heart of this scheme is the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a nonprofit created in February and backed by Israeli authorities. Despite Gaza requiring a minimum of 500 aid trucks per day to meet basic survival needs, the Israeli military allowed just 1 percent of that to enter this week.

GHF, which now controls the operation, was launched by individuals with no background in humanitarian work — David Papazian, formerly with the Armenian National Interests Fund; Samuel Marcel Henderson; and David Kohler, CEO of Kohler Co. They are corporate executives, not aid workers.

According to a leaked internal proposal circulated in May, GHF plans to establish four “secure distribution sites” in Gaza capable of feeding just a fraction of the population (300,000 people), while giving the Israeli military and its contractors full operational oversight.

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US Mulls Ground War In Yemen Via Mercenaries, Pro-Saudi Factions

Bloomberg reports Wednesday that the United States is currently in talks with Saudi-supported Yemeni forces (who have long fought the Houthi rebels) to cobble together a possible new land offensive to send against the Shia militant group which is allied to Iran.

“Yemeni forces opposed to the Houthis are in talks with the US and Gulf Arab allies about a possible land offensive to oust the militant group from the Red Sea coast, according to people involved in the discussions,” Bloomberg writes.

The report follows with, “The conversations come about a month into a US-led aerial assault against the Houthis ordered by President Donald Trump, an operation yet to achieve its aim of ending the Iran-backed group’s attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, a vital trade route, and Israel.”

And The Wall Street Journal first reported Monday that the US is considering a ground assault, given the Houthis have proven impossible to dislodge merely through airstrikes, which have been intense and ongoing since March 15.

The group in question is the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) of former Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. The PLC is the ‘internationally recognized’ government, but which is now based in Saudi Arabia (in exile), given the Houthis have de fact control over most of the country.

The Saudi-UAE-US coalition had already waged an aerial as well as proxy ground war from 2015 to 2022, which killed hundreds of thousand of people and blocked vital resources for the starved population, but the whole campaign did nothing to oust the Houthis – in fact quite the opposite as they became entrenched in the most important strategic sites.

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US Private Security Firm Now Manning Gaza Checkpoints

While Israeli hostages are being released, and the ink barely dry on the ceasefire agreements, American security company UG Solutions, staffed by U.S. Special Forces veterans, is now manning checkpoints in the Gaza Strip.

A small U.S. security firm is hiring nearly 100 U.S. special forces veterans to help run a checkpoint in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas truce, according to a company spokesperson and a recruitment email seen by Reuters, introducing armed American contractors into the heart of one of the world’s most violent conflict zones, reported Reuters.

UG Solutions’ role in the cease-fire deal has been reported, but the email disclosed previously unknown details, including the aim of recruiting 96 veterans exclusively with U.S. special operations forces backgrounds, as well as the pay and the types of weapons they will carry.

Reuters reported on January 7 that Emirati officials had suggested the use of private contractors as part of a post-war peacekeeping force in Gaza, and that the idea had caused concern among Western nations.

These are private companies, and not active-duty American soldiers; but, the risk of this deployment pulling the United States further into another Middle Eastern war remains.

These soldiers are essentially high-value targets for regional terrorists, and lightly defended at that.

“Of course there is a threat they will face,” said Avi Melamed, a former Israeli intelligence official, reported Reuters.

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US PMC involved in Kursk invasion

The US is directly involved in the Ukrainian invasion of Kursk – not only at the strategic level, but also at the tactical and operational sphere. Recent data confirm the participation of at least one US private military company (PMC), meaning that US troops are illegally operating within the 1991 Russian borders. This is likely to lead to a serious escalation of tensions between Moscow and Washington, with the Russian side already demanding formal explanations from US diplomats.

The presence of foreign mercenaries in Kursk is not new. The occurrence of foreigners among Ukrainian troops has been commonly reported, mainly Georgian, Polish and French citizens. However, so far, all reported mercenaries had been members of the Ukrainian Army’s “Foreign Legion”. It is now known that in addition to these individuals who have joined Kiev’s armed forces, there are also mercenary troops from at least one American PMC in Kursk, which represents a higher level of international aggression against Russia.

The American PMC Forward Observation Group (FOG) posted photos and videos on its Instagram showing some of its soldiers fighting on the Kursk front lines. In the photos, it is possible to see not only ordinary PMC members alongside Ukrainian soldiers, but also the founder of FOG himself, Derrick Bales – a well-known American mercenary who has participated in several conflicts. Bales is known for always using an M4A1 rifle in his operations, as well as for having a skull tattoo on his right arm. He has been in Ukraine since 2022, as FOG has been directly involved in training Ukrainian troops. However, this is the first time that a Western PMC has been reported inside the undisputed territory of Russia.

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Russia Says Over 3100 Mainly U.S. Mercenaries Fighting In Ukraine

Mercenaries have long been used on both sides to fight in the Ukraine conflict raging in Eastern Europe. The Wagner Group is an infamous example of the use of paid fighters by Russian forces.

Tsarizm’s sister site, ArmedForces.press reported on this several years ago.

The Kremlin this morning alleged thousands of mercenaries, most of them with a background in the United States, are also involved in fighting for Kyiv.

Over 3,100 foreign mercenaries fight for Ukraine during Russia’s special military operation and most of them come from the United States and Canada, the press office of the Russian Investigative Committee said in a statement on Thursday, reports Russian state news agency TASS.

“Investigators have information about an overall number of over 3,100 foreign mercenaries taking part in combat activities on the Ukrainian side and the majority of them come from the United States, Canada, Great Britain and Georgia,” the statement reads.

The committee added that measures are underway to locate their whereabouts and bring them to criminal liability.

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Erik Prince Busted In Illegal Libya Gun-Running Scheme That Included “Assassination For Hire”

Erik Prince is the wealthy scandal-plagued mercenary who seems never go away from the headlines. The founder of the notorious Blackwater private security company has since been involved in shady schemes and arms dealing everywhere from China to UAE to Syria to Venezuela. He currently heads the Hong Kong-listed Frontier Services Group, providing ‘security services’ across the globe.

And now it’s been revealed that he’s deeply involved in the still-raging war in Libya. No less than the United Nations is alleging he’s overseeing a major arms dealing program in support of eastern Libya warlord Khalifa Haftar who has for years waged war to take over Tripoli. The findings are detailed in a confidential UN report.

“The confidential report to the Security Council, obtained by The New York Times and The Washington Post, and partly seen by Al Jazeera, said on Friday that Prince deployed a force of foreign mercenaries and weapons to renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar, who has fought to overthrow the UN-recognized Libyan government, in 2019,” according to the latest reporting.

While Prince has typically avoided legal consequences for the past scandals he’s been at center of, the UN findings could bring potential international travel restrictions or even sanctions by the world body. This scenario is likely given there is currently a strict UN arms embargo on the country (something however that’s repeatedly violated by governments like France and the UAE and others).

“The $80m operation included plans to form a hit squad to track and kill Libyan commanders opposed to Haftar – including some who were also European Union citizens,” The New York Times found in reviewing the UN report.

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