South African mercenaries have turned the tide of the civil war in Sierra Leone, reports Edward O’Loughlin
Sierra Leone’s military government has been on a roll in recent weeks, driving rebels of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) back from the capital Freetown and recapturing the vital diamond mining region of Kono.
The change in fortunes coincided neatly with the arrival in Sierra Leone of a team of mercenaries from the Pretoria-based firm Executive Outcomes. Although they claim their role is merely to train government troops, it is clear they are taking a considerably more active role.
The decision to bring in foreign mercenaries cannot have been taken lightly. The war began in 1991 as a spillover from the neighbouring Liberian conflict, when Charles Taylor’s National Patriotic Front for Liberia invaded Sierra Leone. The army, then a largely ceremonial body, was unable to cope and so the government rapidly expanded numbers.
Diplomatic sources say this was a mistake. Most of the intake were low calibre — “street kids”, as one local calls them — and discipline soon broke down.
They are blamed for lawlessness in the interior and are so hated that the country’s traditional leaders have called for them to be withdrawn.
But the use of South Africans is controversial. Executive Outcomes personnel are veterans of conflict in Namibia, Angola and Mozambique. That many are black did not prevent a speaker at a recent meeting from describing them as “apartheid’s attack dogs”.
An Executive Outcomes member in Freetown strenuously denied last week that it is involved in any frontline operations. Officially, the organisation is charged with retraining the army, and training its officers in basic intelligence planning, medical procedures and other operational matters.
But the representative said the company’s advice extends to war strategy. Its objective, he said, was to create a stable environment for the free and fair elections the international community wants this year.
“We are not hurting anyone. We are working for a perfectly legal government,” he said. “We are helping to stabilise Africa.”
While noone in Freetown doubts Executive Outcomes is calling the shots, most believe they are firing them, too. The firm declines to reveal the strength of its team, but one well-placed source estimates that 200 to 300 men are involved, too many for a simple training
Individual members are much in evidence around Freetown’s bars and nightclubs and boast openly that they are fighting on the front line.
Local residents say that when rebels attacked Bo three weeks ago, troop-carrying helicopters crewed by South Africans helped drive them off.
The question hanging over the Executive Outcomes operation is, who is paying for it and how much? The government claims it is using the proceeds of a $7- million offshore prospecting concession sold to De Beers, but this doesn’t seem enough.
There is speculation that a recent IMF debt- rescheduling agreement may have provided funding, backed by Western powers seeking to prevent a second Liberia. And there is also talk of a deal with De Beers, which might find it worthwhile to prevent widespread diamond smuggling.
Edward O’Loughlin is a reporter for the Irish Times