The ‘Academi’ in Yemen: 400 Blackwater persons fighting with Saudi-Led forces

In the Persian Gulf impoverished country that has been struck by a Saudi-led war since March 2015, around 400 Blackwater persons have joined the lines of the Saudi-led forces, reported sources.

A Yemeni army spokesman stated that the Saudi-led coalition have been hiring people from around the world to fight in Yemen, and that among contractors currently, there are 400 persons from the US private security firm Blackwater on the ground, Sputnik news reported.

Blackwater Worldwide, which is now known as “Academi”, is one the most notorious private security firms in the world and is responsible for killing of scores of civilians in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Yemen.

In a statement to Russia’s RIA Novosti, the Yemeni spokesperson Brig. Gen. Sharaf Ghalib Luqman said "They hire poor people from around the world to take part in the hostilities. Among them are Somalis and people from Sudanese tribes. However, there are also Europeans, Americans, and Colombians. These are contractors from a structure known as Blackwater. This division includes around 400 people.”

On December 14 of last year, media outlets reported that 42 mercenaries working for Blackwater had been killed in Yemen, noting that one week earlier, 15 fighters also working for the same company were said to have been killed in clashes in the war-torn country.

MORE...

• "BODIES FLEW TO THE STREET FROM THE STRIKE FORCE”
• BRITAIN COULD BE BREAKING THE LAW IN ITS SUPPORT OF RIYADH AGAINST YEMEN
• BRITISH MILITARY EXPERTS INVOLVED IN YEMEN WAR, PRESENT IN SAUDI OPS ROOMS
• SAUDI CRIMES… WESTERN BUSINESS AS USUAL

In the same month, reports said that the Mexican commander-in-chief of the private security firm was slain in the al-Omari district of Ta'iz Province along with some Australian, British, and French advisors and commanders -- plus half a dozen Colombian soldiers -- were among the dead.

Also in November, the New York Times highlighted that as part of a program launched by Blackwater’s CEO; the United Arab Emirates hired foreign mercenaries and secretly sent them to the fighting in Yemen. The daily noted that US advisers are based in the camps where the mercenaries are being trained, and the company originally ran the training program before handing it over to the Emirati.

The UAE has a history of recruiting soldiers from Colombia. In 2013 it was revealed that top Colombian soldiers had joined a US-led mercenary army in the UAE under the command of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.

Thousands of civilians including women and children have been martyred and injured in the brutal attacks as Riyadh attempts to restore power to fugitive president Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi who is a close ally to Saudi Arabia and who was put in office without fair elections in the country.

According to Human Rights groups, more than 7,500 people have been killed and over 14,000 others injured. The infrastructure of the country has also been badly damaged.

23 archeological sites located in the central Yemeni city of Ma'rib, the southern port city of Aden, the southwestern city of Dhale, Sa'adah in northwestern Yemen and the western port city of Hudaydah, as well as the cities of Ta'iz, Shabwa and Hajjah in the south of the country were razed during the attacks, according to Yemen's official Saba news agency.

These include six ancient cities, six castles, three museums, two mosques, four palaces and several other archaeological sites in the Arab country.

 Yemen Crisis

http://ahtribune.com/world/north-africa-south-west-asia/435-academi-in-yemen.html