Feral Jundi

     AP named the private security company involved in training the troops as Saracen International, a Uganda-based firm headed by a South African former special forces soldier called Bill Pelser. In a November statement the Puntland government said Saracen had been hired to establish its “marine forces”, while documents from the Somali presidency this year suggested the company had been hired to train the presidential guard in Mogadishu.

     But in a phone interview, Pelser told the Guardian claims of his company’s involvement were “bullshit”, and said he would take legal action against the media. “I have already given a statement to the UN security council on this. None of my assets are involved in Somalia. It must be another company called Saracen,” he said. -story here.

     Pelser denied being involved in the training program in Puntland or the one for the presidential guard in Mogadishu, saying he merely made introductions for another company called Saracen Lebanon. Lebanese authorities have no record of a company called Saracen. Pelser did not respond to requests for contact information for Saracen Lebanon.

     This story just came across my radar, so I am still trying to piece together what’s what.  Although unlike the main stream media, I will give Mr. Pelser the benefit of the doubt and trust that his company is not involved. He says that there is another company called Saracen Lebanon that is training this militia for anti-piracy operations.

    It also seem this militia is being privately funded by a donor from the middle east. This donor is also providing ‘120 new pickup trucks and six small aircraft for patrolling the coast’. That’s impressive, and I would be very curious as to who this mystery donor is and what kind of aircraft they are willing to provide?  If anyone has details, please feel free to expand in the comments.

    The folks that Puntland hired for keeping everything straight are interesting as well. Pierre Prosper was one of them, and this guy is like a legal super star for everything Africa.  He was hired by the Bush Administration to deal with the various war crimes issues in Africa. I am sure he knows what company is being used too.  Check out the link to his profile at the law firm he works at, and you will get an idea of what he is all about. Like I said, if anyone has anything to add, feel free to correct the record or add to this post so we can get the story straight. –Matt

Edit: 12/4/2010- This is interesting.  The president of Puntland was recently questioned by reporters about this anti-piracy force, and he says they will do what they have to do to raise this army and get them trained. So he is not denying or backing down.

(a portion of this article posted below)

Somalia: Puntland pres meets Kuwait emir, defends anti-piracy force

3 Dec 3, 2010

……Anti-piracy force

Puntland’s leader said that the government of Puntland “will not seek approval” from anyone when it comes to security matters.

“For nearly two years, we have requested the international community to help us establish anti-piracy troops and to construct monitoring stations along Puntland’s coast to fight pirates…but we received no answer,” the president said.

He indicated that there are “questions” about Puntland’s agreement with Saracen International, a South Africa-based maritime security company that inked a deal to train anti-piracy troops in Puntland last month.

“What is important is that Puntland improves its security. Without sufficient security, there can be no investment because investment depends on security and stability,” Puntland’s leader said.

He noted that the anti-piracy troops, which are to number 1,050 soldiers when training completes, will still need equipment and telecommunications gear in order to commence the fight against Somali pirates who threaten the world’s shipping lanes.

President Farole said that only African Union peacekeepers (AMISOM) are allowed to bring weapons to Somalia under U.N. regulations, adding: “We will continue to seek equipment and other support for our anti-piracy troops when training completes.”

He indicated that the Puntland-Saracen agreement is “in the spirit of the Istanbul Declaration, which encourages public-private partnerships” for Somalia.

Link to story here.

US concerned by Somali private military

1,000-man militia being trained in north Somalia

Somalia: Puntland signed an agreement with Sarecen Company to train its Marine Forces

US concerned by Somali private military

By MATTHEW LEEThursday, December 2, 2010

The Obama administration raised concerns Thursday about a private military force aimed at combatting piracy in northern Somalia’s semiautonomous Puntland region.

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the U.S. has been aware of the operation, but is not involved in any way. He said the U.S. has unanswered questions about the backing and purpose of the project, which has begun training an armed force of up to 1,050 men in Puntland.

“We are aware that Puntland authorities have contracted with a private security company to assist them with counter-piracy in the region,” Crowley told reporters. “We were not consulted about this program. We are not funding it. We are concerned about the lack of transparency regarding its funding, objectives and scope.”

Crowley said the U.S. is seeking more information about the force, which officials in the region say is being trained by a private security firm called Saracen International.

The Associated Press reported Wednesday that the force is being funded by an undisclosed Muslim nation, which has hired a former CIA officer and a senior ex-U.S. diplomat to help with its creation.

The new force’s first class of 150 Somali recruits from Puntland graduated from a 13-week training course on Monday. It is to be equipped with 120 new pickup trucks and six small aircraft for patrolling the coast.

In September, the Obama administration said it planned to broaden its outreach to Puntland and another semiautonomous Somali region, Somaliland, as part of its efforts to help restore stability in Somalia.

U.S. officials did not detail what the outreach would entail but said it would stop short of recognizing the two entities as independent countries.

The presence of the force has raised concern among some in the region who note that Somalia hasn’t had a fully functioning government since 1991. The country is torn between clan warlords, Islamist insurgent factions, an 8,000-strong African Union peacekeeping force, government forces and allied groups.

Story here.

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1,000-man militia being trained in north Somalia

By KATHARINE HOURELDWednesday, December 1, 2010

In the northern reaches of Somalia and the country’s presidential palace, a well-equipped military force is being created, funded by a mysterious donor nation that is also paying for the services of a former CIA officer and a senior ex-U.S. diplomat.

The Associated Press has determined through telephone and e-mail interviews with three insiders that training for an anti-piracy force of up to 1,050 men has already begun in Puntland, a semiautonomous region in northern Somalia that is believed to hold reserves of oil and gas.

But key elements remain unknown – mainly who is providing the millions of dollars in funding and for what ultimate purpose.

Pierre Prosper, an ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues under former President George W. Bush, told AP he is being paid by a Muslim nation he declined to identify to be a legal adviser to the Somali government, focusing on security, transparency and anti-corruption.

Prosper said the donations from the Muslim nation come from a “zakat fund,” referring to charitable donations that Islam calls for the faithful to give each year. The same donor is paying for both training programs.

Somalia hasn’t had a fully functioning government since 1991 and is torn between clan warlords, Islamist insurgent factions, an 8,000-strong African Union peacekeeping force, government forces and allied groups. Given that mix, the appearance of an unknown donor with deep pockets is troubling, said E.J. Hogendoorn, a Nairobi-based analyst with the International Crisis Group.

“We don’t know if this unknown entity is operating in the interests of Somalis or their own self-interest,” he said in an interview. “If it’s a company, there has to be a quid pro quo in terms of (oil and gas) concessions. If it’s a government, they are interested in changing the balance of power.”

The new force’s first class of 150 Somali recruits from Puntland graduated from a 13-week training course on Monday, said Mohamed Farole, the son of Puntland President Abdirahman Mohamed Farole. The son, who is a liaison between the government and journalists and diplomats, told AP the new force will hunt down pirates on land in the Galgala mountains.

The range lies 125 miles (200 kilometers) north of the nearest main pirate anchorage but is home to an Islamist-linked militia that complains it has been cut out of energy exploration deals.

The Islamist militants led by Mohamed Said Atom have clashed with government forces several times this year. A March report by the U.N. accuses Atom of importing arms from Yemen and receiving consignments from Eritrea, including mortars, for delivery to al-Shabab forces in southern Somalia. Al-Shabab is Somalia’s biggest insurgent group and has ties with al-Qaida.

The president’s son emphasized the force was dedicated to anti-piracy, but said that he hoped greater security in the region would bring more investors into “public-private partnerships” with the government.

“You cannot have oil exploration if you have insecurity,” Mohamed Farole said. “You have to eliminate the pirates and al-Shabab.”

Energy exploration has started mainly just south of the mountains, although the amount of estimated reserves is unknown, or at least not publicly divulged.

Michael Shanklin, who was the CIA’s deputy chief of station in Mogadishu 20 years ago, told AP he is employed by the unidentified donor country as a security adviser and liaison to the Somali government. Prosper said he is encouraging the Muslim donor nation, which insists on keeping its identity secret, to become more transparent.

The new force will be equipped with 120 new pickup trucks – which have already arrived – and six small aircraft for patrolling the coast, Farole said. No other force in Somalia, including the Mogadishu-based central government or African Union peacekeepers, has air assets.

Prosper said the Muslim nation is also donating four armored vehicles. A photo provided by diplomats and taken at Mogadishu’s airport show two armored trucks made by Ford with gunner’s turrets.

In recent weeks, Shanklin and Prosper met several Nairobi-based diplomats to discuss the contract between the Puntland and Mogadishu governments and a private security company called Saracen International, Prosper said in written replies to questions from AP. Prosper said Saracen is doing the military training and is being paid by the unnamed Muslim nation. Saracen is not providing the militia with any weapons, he said.

Uganda-based Saracen International was named in a March letter written by the Somali president’s former chief of staff, Abdulkareem Jama, and obtained by AP that described training for the presidential guard. And it was named in a Nov. 18 statement from Puntland’s government announcing the anti-piracy training. Bill Pelser, the chief executive of Saracen International, said it is “definitely a mistake or a misrepresentation.”

Pelser denied being involved in the training program in Puntland or the one for the presidential guard in Mogadishu, saying he merely made introductions for another company called Saracen Lebanon. Lebanese authorities have no record of a company called Saracen. Pelser did not respond to requests for contact information for Saracen Lebanon.

Pelser is a former South African special forces soldier. Like many of his staff, he used to work for Executive Outcomes, a South African mercenary outfit credited with helping defeat rebel forces in Sierra Leone in return for mineral concessions.

Prosper declined to say how much the donor country has spent on the programs. Two Nairobi-based security analysts calculate it has already spent around $10 million on equipment, salaries and other costs. The analysts asked for anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the press.

Somalia’s vast swaths of lawless territory host training camps for hundreds of foreign fighters aiding al-Shabab. Lying across the narrow Gulf of Aden from Yemen, Somalia is a haven for figures seeking to escape a U.S.-funded crackdown on terrorist networks in Yemen.

Whoever controls a well-trained, well-equipped and consistently paid military force is in a strong position to make a bid for filling the power vacuum in Somalia.

Farole declined to comment on his father’s political future but noted that since his father became Puntland’s president, he chased many pirates out of the region and ensured regular payments for soldiers in a country where many desert because the central government is too disorganized or corrupt to pay them.

The U.N. is quietly investigating to see if the creation and outfitting of the new military force violates an arms embargo, according to a U.N. representative who asked not to be identified because he is not authorized to speak publicly.

The embargo forbids the importation of arms, military equipment or any support to any armed group in Somalia, including to any Somali government, without authorization from the U.N.’s sanctions committee. There is an exemption for support for counter-piracy operations, provided the Security Council was notified and gave permission. In the case of the new military force, the Security Council was not notified.

Story here.

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Somalia: Puntland signed an agreement with Sarecen Company to train its Marine Forces

Posted by Nasongo Will

November 19, 2010

Garowe (Alshahid) – Somalia’s semi-autonomous state of Puntland has issue a press release thanking the international community for their support and explaining its partnership with a private oreign company to train its Marine Forces.

The statement  reads:

The Government of Puntland wishes to convey its gratitude and appreciation for the support provided and pledged by the International Community, tangible or intangible, as agreed between the various stakeholders.

However, in line with the spirit of Public private partnership sanctioned in the final communiqué of the “Istanbul Conference for Somalia” of May 2010, in order to pursue priority government goals and objectives, it was necessary to obtain the services of Saracen International, a private service provider. This company, in a Public Private Partnership with the government, has embarked on a comprehensive program to assist the government of Puntland to build its capacity in order to regain control of its territorial waters and marine resources, fighting against the pirates and the Unregulated, Unlicensed, Illegal Fishing in the Puntland territorial waters.

The Puntland Marine Force is a newly established law enforcement body as part of the Puntland security forces, which will be trained and mentored by Saracen International, with the mandate to protect the international maritime line off the coast of Puntland as well as the marine resources of the State of Puntland.

However, this marine force will enhance security in its area of operations and contribute to the general safety and security of the people of Puntland, particularly in the coastal regions on land and at sea.

The Government of Puntland is of the firm belief that Saracen International will make a significant contribution to establish, train and mentor the Puntland Marine Force according to the strict rules, guidelines and restrictions that are issued by the highest office of the Puntland government.

END

Communications Office

The Puntland Presidency

E-mail : info@puntland-gov.net

Story here.