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US mercenaries were hired by the UAE, as part of Saudi Arabia's Yemeni-led coalition, to assassinate Islamic political leaders and clerics in 2015.
Spear Operations Group, which is incorporated in Delaware, has agreed with the United Arab Emirates to carry out targeted killings for $ 1.5 million a month, with undisclosed bonuses, according to an exclusive report by BuzzFeed News. The company has recruited elite veterans from the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, offering them about $ 25,000 a month.
"There was a program of targeted killings in Yemen," Spear founder Abraham Golan, a charismatic subcontractor of Israeli-Hungarian security forces living near Pittsburgh, told BuzzFeed News. "I was running. We did it. This was approved by the UAE within the coalition. "
Although the company's shares took place in a legal gray area, it is not clear whether they were indeed illegal under US law or whether any of the people involved could be prosecuted. The United States has laws against murder, injury and kidnapping in foreign countries, but do not forbid mercenaries to fight for foreign armies. Spear ensured that his troops officially receive UAE uniforms, weapons and letters of credence before embarking on their missions.
Golan told BuzzFeed News that he believes the US should support such programs and even consider launching a government-approved program.
"I just want there to be a debate," he said. "Maybe I'm a monster, maybe I should be in jail, maybe I'm a bad guy, but I'm right." He said it would ultimately result in less bloodshed. and violence.
Anssaf Ali Mayo, the local leader of the Islamist political party Al-Islah, explained that the main operation detailed by the BuzzFeed News report was. According to the United Arab Emirates, this group is part of the Muslim Brotherhood, which it describes as a terrorist organization. However, many experts say that the organization is not violent, but a political party opposed to the actions of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia in Yemen. The United States also does not classify the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization.
With the recent disappearance and alleged assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khasshogi, who contributed to The Washington Post and a critic of his country's actions in Yemen, the conflict and US support for the coalition have been increasingly criticized by Republicans and Democrats. Many politicians, the United Nations and human rights groups have expressed deep concern over the actions of the Saudi coalition in the war since the beginning of this war in 2015.
Lise Grande, UN humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, warned Sunday that 12 to 13 million people were at risk of starvation within three months if coalition airstrikes continued.
The conflict began when Iranian-backed Houthi rebels took control of most of the country, including Sana'a, the capital. Saudi Arabia and its coalition allies fought to support the internationally recognized government, which has exiled. The United States provided military assistance to the coalition, expanding support under the administration of President Donald Trump.
MOHAMMED HUWAIS / AFP / Getty Images
In three years, at least 10,000 people have died and millions have been displaced. The country also suffers from the worst cholera epidemic in the world, with 10,000 new cases each week, a crisis aggravated by the destruction of sanitation facilities by air strikes.
With the disappearance of Khashoggi and his alleged assassination, many politicians suggest that US support for the war led by the Saudi coalition in Yemen could end.
"Our involvement in Yemen with Saudi Arabia will certainly be affected," Republican Senator Jeff Flake told ABC. This week . He also stressed that the US commitment had "barely survived the last go-around with the National Defense Authorization Act".
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