In Germany, the founding of a private military company has now failed. The federal prosecutor’s office arrested two former Bundeswehr soldiers who were in the process of setting up a mercenary force. They were already in talks with seven men, and another hundred were still to be recruited.
The two future mercenary leaders had primarily intended to go into the civil war in Yemen with their paramilitary organization and ensure peace there. The aim was to force an end to the conflict between the Houthi rebels and the Yemeni government. This was announced by the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office in Karlsruhe. The two detainees are now likely to be charged with founding a terrorist organization. Both were aware that they would also carry out “acts of murder” as part of their plan. They also admitted that collateral damage would have been unavoidable in the event of their mission. Killed and injured civilians were to be expected. The mercenary leaders would have liked their private war to be financed by the Saudi Arabian government, with which at least one of them “persistently” tried to make contact, but in vain. The Saudis were then also supposed to provide the pay for the troops. The two ex-Bundeswehr soldiers had envisioned a monthly salary of 40,000 euros for each member of their paramilitary unit. The idea was to recruit mainly former members of the Bundeswehr and former police officers. For the period after the Yemen mission, the mercenary force would also have offered its services for other paid missions in other conflict zones. According to the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office, the opportunity to earn good money was also one of the main reasons for founding this terrorist organization.
