0Harare - As deadly insurrectionary attacks ravage northern Mozambique, a private army under the command of a former Zimbabwean soldier, Retired Colonel Lionel Dyck, remains the only visible external unit battling to put things under control. Amnesty International estimates that more than 2,000 people have died and another 450,000 displaced because of the fighting. Sometimes referred to as mercenaries or dogs of war, or more charitably as soldiers of fortune, private armies have thrived in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America where governments and corporate interests often find it cheaper to hire them to do the heavy lifting. DAG’s website says the company has conducted “security-based operations” in at least eight countries, including the Central African Republic, Malawi and South Africa, and now Mozambique. With big corporate interests circling around Mozambique, and the SADC region either financially, technically or politically hamstrung from lending assistance, soldiers of fortune may yet have a long lease in the Southern African country.

Source: The North Africa Journal November 13, 2020 09:45 UTC