Many of us have read Frederick Forsyth's famous novel, “The Dogs of War” depicting the powerful intervention by mercenaries to destabilise new regimes in Africa. Are mercenaries or Private Military Contractors (PMCs) a new phenomenon, or have they been around for ages? Well, the term PMCs is new, but similar security services were around for centuries. In olden and medieval times, a King had several feudal lords or vassals who maintained soldiers for their own security and for lighting for the King when required or sought by the King. Indian Kings and Princes too would pool in warriors from their Jagirdars and Subedars when a threat developed. These ‘State Forces' were not totally ‘private' however, but owed allegiance to an authority. Many PMCs today owe allegiance to a power, but also conveniently don ‘the cloak of deniability' – like our neighbourhood non-state actors. And PMCs will continue in connficts in future as they meet the clandestine requirements of different nations, and provide lack of accountability too.
Introduction
The modern-day growth of PMCs took root in the era of
neo-economic liberalisation of the Western nations post world
war providing the ideological justification for private security.
To the veterans, end of the cold war, accompanied by the
increasing number of intra-state conflicts provided an
alternate avenue for employment to plug the gap in the security
sector of the newly independent countries that were in the
middle of conflicts.
As the number of conflicts increased, the
PMCs flourished generating revenue and
employment for the war veterans and in
some cases criminals, and also assisted in a
boom in the arms industry. It is reported
that in the late 1990s, the PMCs were able to
generate revenues of 20 billion USD per
annum. PMCs lack accountability, feed on
instability and hence are up for sale to the
highest bidder.
Actors of Stability or Instability?
The list of roles that PMCs can play is
long, covering anything from training and
advisory roles, logistic support, acquisition
of intelligence, and providing static guard
and personal protection to undertaking
military operations either independently or
jointly with the security forces of the
country employing PMCs. There is an
absence of internationally accepted
legislation to regulate PMCs, and the states
that are employing PMCs and those who are
providing them are also unwilling to
regulate them. PMCs can be actors of both
stability and instability depending on the
way they are employed.
There are different shades in the form, organisation, indoctrination and allegiance of PMCs. Many non- state actors, akin to PMCs operate in the Islamic nations and in the Middle East.
Actors of Stability
In the long-running Angolan Civil
War, Angolan state oil company
Sonangol hired the ser vices of
Executive Outcomes (EO) to secure
and defend its Soyo oil field (North of
Angola) from the UNITA rebels in 1993
and for defending the diamond mines.
This way, even though the civil war
continued, the Angolan Government,
with the help of EO, managed to reduce
the capacity of UNITA to continue the
war to a great extent and finally forced
the outfit to sign the Lusaka Peace
Agreement. For its services, EO was paid
an amount of 40 million USD per
annum and undisclosed diamond mining
rights. One of these rights amounted to
25 billion USD per annum.
In 2014, the Nigerian Government,
to fight Boko Haram, hired South
African mercenaries - Cornella
Ser vices, Pilgrims Africa and
Specialised Tasks, Training,
Equipment and Protection
International (STTEP) to train
Nigerian soldiers. The mercenaries
undertook joint operations against Boko
Haram. The mercenaries and specially
trained Nigerian soldiers made some
remarkable gains while fighting Boko
Haram. Destruction of the Boko
Haram Headquarters and rescuing a
number of kidnapped school girls was
a decisive moment in Nigeria's fight
against Boko Haram. A few African
nations are contemplating using this
model in their respective countries.
Nigeria continues to employ
PMCs for training purposes.
Collaboration with Starter Point
Integrated Services (SPIS) to train
Nigerian soldiers in Infantry School in
2020, hiring Israeli firm HLSI
Security System and Technology
Limited in 2021 with a contract of 195
million USD for the training of a
special intervention force, and the
acquisition of sea, land and air
capabilities are two such examples. The
Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC) also hired a PMC
to counter pir acy a t sea , who
successfully intercepted a vessel
carrying stolen crude oil.
The Central African Republic (CAR) also involved PMCs to bring
back stability. In 2022, the CAR Government
allies and armies' along with Wagner Group
personnel and Rwandan soldiers repelled the
attack' of six armed groups who were
planning to attack the capital city of Bangui.
The Wagner Group continues to operate
in CAR.
There are different shades in the form,
organisation, indoctrination and allegiance of
PMCs. Many non- state actors, akin to PMCs
operate in the Islamic nations and in the
Middle East. In Lebanon, the government
supports the militar y operations by
Hezbollah against Israel. Hezbollah is
funded by a foreign country and is a nongovernmental armed outfit, hence can be
called private, but it is considered by Lebanon
as a resistance movement to defend the
sovereignty of Lebanon against Israeli
aggression. Even though Hezbollah's military
deterrence has played a role in preventing a
major conflict until now, at the end of the day,
it is a private organisation.
Actors of Instability
The PMCs notoriety in violation of
Human Rights (HR) and International
Humanitarian Law overshadows their
selective positive contribution. In CAR,
there are reports of PMCs' HR
violations while operating along with
CAR Armed Forces. There are similar
reports of EO's involvement in Angola
and in mining operations in Sierra
Leone; Sandline International has
also been blamed in Sierra Leone. In
2000, there were reports of dozens of
PMCs which included former soldiers
of the Soviet Armed Forces, veterans
of the French Foreign Legion, and
businessmen who were engaged in arms
trafficking in Democratic Republic of
Congo. Recent instances of HR
violations by the Wagner Group in
Mali have again drawn the attention of
the world to the risk to civilians by the unregulated PMCs.
In 2000, DynCorps, a US-based security organisation was accused
of raping and killing young girls and women and trafficking when the
agency was contracted to train Bosnian police. Another notorious
example of PMCs violation of HR is that of Blackwater killing 17 Iraqi
11 civilians and injuring 20 at Nisour square in Baghdad. Four employees
were convicted in the United States and later pardoned on 22 December
2020, by President Donald Trump.
Our Neighbourhood – PMCs or Terrorists
Closer home in South Asia, one sees a
different shade of state-sponsored PMCs.
Amongst many, Jaish-e-Mohammed
(JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), are two
major terrorist organisations that have their
training camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan
and operate in Pakistan's neighbourhood
13 with impunity. Pakistan is known for
using these home-g rown terrorist
organisations as PMCs in pursuit of its
strategic interests in the neighbouring
countries. India has often faced attacks
launched by these Pakistan-sponsored
PMCs. There is however a clear difference
between groups like Hezbollah, Hamas,
JeM and LeT. Hezbollah has been
acknowledged by the Lebanese
Government as a resistance force. Besides,
Hezbollah is a political party and
undertakes several social activities for its
large following in South Lebanon. Hamas
also has a political wing, but is not under the
control of the Palestinian Authority.
Hamas is not accountable to any
Government, Hezbollah too has such a
standing. JeM and LeT on the other hand
are sponsored and funded by Pakistan's
intelligence agencies but Pakistan does not
accept their ownership officially. These
terrorist organisations are actors of
inst abilit y not onl y in Pakist an's
neighbourhood but also in Pakistan.
The HR Question
In conflicts, whether it is inter-state or
intra-state conflict, the biggest challenge is
protecting innocent civilians when the state
itself is complicit in crimes against its
citizens; or how to protect them from the
threat from armed groups. Some states are
in the midst of armed conflicts where
peacekeeping missions are deployed, and
PMCs are also operating with the
knowledge and tacit approval of the host states; examples CAR and Mali. The
host states prefer to turn a blind eye to
the crimes committed by the PMCs as it
helps them to remain in power.
But there are proponents who
believe that PMCs can be selectively
used to fill the security gap in states that
are facing armed conflict. If the PMCs
become members of the International
Stability Operations Association
(ISOA), formerly the International
Peace Operations Association (IPOA),
and uphold the ethical standards as set
out in the ISOA code of conduct, PMCs
could be a force multiplier. That apart,
despite many positive contributions on
the part of the PMCs to maintain
stability, the reality is that the PMCs
personnel are quite indisciplined,
roguish and use the gun in their hands
for crimes, looting and sexual offences.
PMCs are actors more for instability
and less for stability; with a record of
HR Violations.
The Future
PMCs are here to stay. The
Americans found it convenient to
employ Blackwater for security
services in Afghanistan, and used them
clandestinely for illegal operations too.
The Russians too have used the
Wagner Group extensively in the
Bakhmut battle in Ukraine, and in many
parts of Africa, to serve their strategic
interests. Iran too will continue to
support Hezbollah, Hamas and other
such groups; and Pakistan will likewise
retain their terrorist groups. The major
advantage of such terrorist groups or
PMCs is the ‘cloak of deniability';
and that countries can use such PMCs
for their strategic, clandestine
operations without involving their
regular Armed Forces.
