British mercenaries to Somalia

This video is called Oil hunting in Somalia part 1.

And this is part 2.

“Somalia has lots of natural resources like iron ore, tin, gypsum, bauxite, copper, salt, natural gas,uranium and largely unexploited reserves of oil.”

As if United States warplanes bombing Somalia, United States-backed warlords in Somalia, Ethiopian allies of the United States slitting Somali civilians’ throats, United States sponsored Ugandan cannon fodder in Somalia, and German mercenaries in Somalia are not already bad enough …

By Ann Talbot:

Plan to deploy British mercenaries in Somalia

1 December 2010

British mercenaries are to be deployed in Somalia, according to the London-based Sunday Telegraph. The Telegraph, which is well informed on military matters, revealed last week that the Foreign Office has been in talks with a firm that employs former members of the Special Boat Service (SBS).

The ex-SBS men will work with local warlords to take control of the coastline along the strategic shipping route that runs around the Horn of Africa. Ostensibly the plan is an anti-piracy measure responding to the kidnapping of a British couple who were travelling in the area on their yacht. In reality, it expresses the renewed drive to colonial expansion in this vital area.

The SBS is the naval version of the Special Air Service (SAS). Traditionally, the SBS has specialised in amphibious operations, but it has been used in both Iraq and Afghanistan. In both cases the SBS has been used to capture or assassinate leading members of the resistance.

It is thought that a joint SAS/SBS squadron has been formed. The move would reflect the greater emphasis successive British governments have placed on the role of the Special Forces. They are seen as a cost effective way of increasing the UK’s global reach and participating in US-led wars of aggression. While the recent UK defence review made cuts in conventional forces, it recommended increasing the funding for Special Forces. Overseas aid was also protected in the coalition government’s austerity measures. This was advertised as a humanitarian measure, but the funding for the mercenary operation in Somalia will come out of the aid budget.

Drum Cussac, which claims to be “the market leader in anti-piracy and maritime security consultancy”, is to supply the mercenaries. It already provides armed security for commercial vessels off the Horn of Africa and operates in the West African offshore oilfields. It is run by Jeremy Stampa Orwin, a former British army officer who served in the Scots Guards. A previous firm he ran shared offices with Sandline International, the company that became notorious for its role in Papua New Guinea and Sierra Leone. It shipped some 35 tonnes of weapons to Sierra Leone when a United Nations arms embargo was in force.

Somalia: Mogadishu Death Toll Hits 40 On Third Day of Fighting: here.