ASMARA, Eritrea—In early February of this year, a six-man squad of British mercenaries were caught red-handed in the midst of preparing an attempt to assassinate the top leadership of the Eritrean government in the port city of Massawa on the Red Sea.
Of the six, four were apprehended and two managed to escape, abandoning their mates while blazing out of Massawa Bay into the Red Sea in an inflatable speedboat, never to be seen again by Eritrean eyes.
A search of the vessel they arrived on uncovered a cache of tools of the assassins’ trade. Included was a small arsenal of automatic weapons, a sophisticated satellite communications system, state of the art electronic target range finders, and most damning, several sniper rifles.
All of those arrested have since been confirmed as employees of a British “security” firm akin to the notorious US company Blackwater/Xe. At least two of the four are former British Special Forces. As in the case of Richard Davis, the CIA killer caught in the act in Pakistan, the British Foreign Office has been claiming Vienna Convention protections for these gun thugs all but confirming their being on an official mission for the British Government.
Their arrest took place just a few hundred yards from our Red Sea home in Massawa, and happened while we were there. In the weeks and months that followed, each time I have driven by that spot I have felt a sick feeling in my stomach for the salt embankment they were hiding behind has an unobstructed view of the site where just a few days later all the top leadership of the Eritrean government would be gathering for the annual outdoor celebration of the 1990 capture of the Port of Massawa by Eritrean liberation fighters.
These professional killers were discovered almost by accident by a woman, taking a short cut home through an adjacent out of service salt flat, who noticed, as all good Eritreans should, that sa’ada, white people, were taking photos (with telephoto lenses) somewhere they were not allowed. These Brit “diplomats” took their sweet time scoping out their firing points and parameters of their potential killing field for their discoverer had to walk almost a mile to the nearest police station to report this and then the police had to drive the roundabout route to the spot in question.
But for the vigilance of one Eritrean woman Eritrea might have experienced an unthinkable disaster, the loss of Eritrea’s president and only god knows how many of Eritrea’s top leaders.
This is not the first time I have written about an attempt to assassinate Eritrea’s leadership. In 2002 and 2003, I wrote of how during the Western backed Ethiopian invasion of Eritrea in 2000 a series of long range artillery attacks destroyed Eritrean front line command centers within minutes of President/Commander-in-Chief Issias Aferworki departure. In one case, there is strong evidence that a missile caused the destruction, and if this is true, it is almost certain to have been launched by a US fighter aircraft at high altitude.
Again, the question must be asked, why would the West want to kill Eritrea’s leaders?
Maybe its because Eritrea’s economy is once again about to don the mantle of the fastest growing economy in Africa, and this without significant Western aid projects or predatory loans from the IMF and World Bank.
More likely it’s the fact Eritrea has long been a thorn in the side of Western attempts to dominate the Horn of Africa, one of the most strategically important regions in the world. With some 40 percent of the world maritime traffic passing Eritrean shores everyday, including much of the world’s oil and the entire trade between China, Japan and India with the EU, the Horn of Africa may not be of concern to the average Westerner, but those in power in Western capitals know better.
The policy of the USA and its Western allies is one of “crisis management” here in Africa. The West creates a crisis and then manages, or exploits the war and chaos that follows, to divide and conquer, the better to loot and plunder the natural and human resources of a region.
Eritrea has been the main obstacle to the Western implementation of this policy in the Horn of Africa, and this explains this desperate attempt to assassinate Eritrea’s leadership.
The saying is “that all roads to peace in the Horn of Africa run through Asmara [Eritrea]” and I have witnessed firsthand its truth. Peace in Sudan was born and nurtured here in Asmara, first in Eastern Sudan, then with the South and now the ongoing Darfur peace efforts.
A grand attempt was made here in Asmara to reconstitute a new government in Somalia, though this was sabotaged by the West and its Ethiopian enforcers.
The denizens of the intelligence offices in the West responsible for Africa remember all too well how a short two decades ago it was a rag-tag, Afro coiffed army of Eritrean guerilla fighters driving captured Ethiopian tanks that smashed their way across northern Ethiopia, drove the dictator Mengistu from power and brought peace to Ethiopia for the first time in 30 years.
This past year I have witnessed a disparate collection of leaders of far-flung ethnic-based Ethiopian guerilla fighters gathering here in Asmara, beginning to build a consensus on how to construct a new, national unity government to help keep the peace in Ethiopia once the Meles Zenawi regime is driven from power.
All of this is the main threat to the West’s implementing its policy of “crisis management” in the Horn of Africa.
With its empire in decline, suffering defeat after defeat, unable even to drive Muammar Gaddafi from power, despite the combined airpower of most of NATO’s European members, one would be wise to expect ever more desperate measures from the Western regimes.
The Western elite may loudly preach about the rule of law but reality is that international law is the law of the jungle where only the strong survive. Eritrea is not only surviving but ever so slowly growing stronger and more influential every day, which should help explain why British mercenaries brought their assassins’ tools to Eritrean shores.
Note; Some of the information in this article comes from the independent.co.uk, including the employment confirmation of the British mercenaries, their background and the British Foreign Office claims of Vienna Convention protections for them. Firsthand interviews with Eritreans directly involved are the basis for the rest of the story.
By Thomas C. Mountain | Intrepid Report | June 8, 2011Thomas C. Mountain is the only independent Western journalist in the Horn of Africa, living and reporting from Eritrea since 2006.
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US Air Force C17 transport caught smuggling arms and drugs into Argentina
Submitted by Aletho News on Sat, 2011-06-11 13:21
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1. No foreign journalists are allowed in Eritrea
2. The Eritrean government has often claimed infiltration by foreign powers in an attempt to keep the country from splitting apart.
3. The government is often claiming that Eritrea is economically well off when in fact there are many people escaping via overcrowded boats to Malta and other points in Europe.
A story came out today about the release of the alleged spies.
I am not sure what to make of the source of this information, Thomas C. Mountain - I did find the following:
Shame on Thomas C. MountainI didn’t think I would respond to Thomas C. Mr. Mountain’s article entitled, “Sweden’s Cause Celebre Dawit Issack: Hero or Zero?” published in Eritreacompass.com, a sister website of shabait.com(a website of the Ministry of Information).
Mr. Mountain is an unofficial spokesperson of the Eritrean government and he was actually hired by the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) to misinform the international community. I didn’t intend to raise this issue because most people know the truth anyway, but I decided to do so just in case Mr. Mountain’s article influences 0.00001% members of the international community. Those people deserve to know the truth if they are not aware of it yet.
Thomas C. Mountain, the so called “independent journalist,” acts as an expert on Eritrea. He has tried to discredit Eritrean journalists and organizations that advocate press freedom. Mr. Mountain criticised the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) for placing Dawit Issack’s name on the list of arrested journalists in the fall of 2000.
the rest at http://www.asmarino.com/articles/637-shame-on-thomas-c-mountain
Today's article on the "spies":
UK says Eritrea releases 4 detained BritonsLONDON (Reuters) - Eritrea has freed four British security contractors who it had accused of spying and terrorism and kept in detention since December, Britain's foreign ministry said on Sunday.
The men worked for a British maritime security firm, which said they were detained when they made an unscheduled stop in Eritrea due to rough weather while en route to provide security for ships in an area where piracy is rife.
"We are pleased that the four British nationals have now been able to leave Eritrea and can be reunited with family and friends. We are very grateful to the Government of the State of Qatar for helping facilitate their return," Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said in a statement.
Britain has frosty relations with Eritrea, which it says supports Islamist insurgents in Somalia, but warmer ties with Qatar, the main Arab state providing military support to enforce the U.N. resolution protecting civilians in Libya.
Eritrea did not grant Britain consular access to the men, who it said were carrying sniper rifles and bullet-proof vests, prompting Britain to ban Eritrean diplomats from travelling outside London without permission.
The men's employer, Protection Vessels International, said it believed they were in good health and had been well treated while in detention.
"PVI regrets the series of unfortunate events leading to the men's detainment, but it would like to express thanks to the Eritrean President and his government for their release. PVI is also very grateful for the support and advice by the FCO," the firm said in a statement.
PVI employs former British marines to provide armed on-board security and escort vessels for shipping operating in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.
Try making an "unscheduled stop" in the US on a zodiac with sniper rifles, encription devices and GPS equiptment. Me thinks that you would wind up at Guantanamo... or worse.
Aaron fails to present a convincing case.
Aaron fails to present a convincing case.
What does it take to "convince" you?
Mountain lies not only about who he is but where he's reporting from (says he's in Eritrea but writes from the US), and that whopper alone would be enough for me to discount a "source" (and I use that term loosely with this guy). Read it again.
Mountain is cited with assisting in squelching the free press in Eritrea while working for the Eritrean government. I doubt my Eritrean co-worker is lying, but this clown most certainly is. I would not be surprised if he's connected to some alphabet intel agency in the US or Israel.
As far as these "spies" go, I cannot find any evidence of ties to anything but what they said they were - e.g. security for cargo ships - which explains the equipment- and had to make a stop for repairs.
Pirates often take over ships and kill the entire crew, repaint the ship's markings and sail it off to god knows where - and I would assume it's cheaper to hire trained security than it is to arm and train a few dozen Filipino sailors. The "spies" are not some young hot shot assasin team either. They look like they're in semi-retirement. Maybe good for a ship, but I wouldn't expect these guys to be able to move very fast after taking out a few Eritrean leaders.
It may be romantic to think of "poor little Eritrea" as some vulnerable country about to be taken over by the big bad US or Britain, but Eritrea seems to be about as honest a country as the US, Britain, or Haiti under Papa Doc. It's just another criminal state, albeit a small one.
Mountain's story is bullcrap.
Andie,
Has it occurred to you that your ex-pat co-worker may harbor a grudge toward the authorities in his country?
If you can excuse the violation of Eritrean sovereignty so blithely you could rationalize anything. This alone casts a shadow over the entire commentary you present.
Has it occurred to you that your ex-pat co-worker may harbor a grudge toward the authorities in his country?
Could it be anything like the grudge I have against mine? Yeah, MAYBE! Could it be based on actual events? PROBABLY!
Could people be leaving Eritrea in overcrowded boats because the economy there is god awful and no where near what Mountan (as a paid spokesperson for the Eritrean government) says it is? HIGHLY LIKELY! Is that another lie Mountain's been caught in? LOOKS LIKE IT!
This Mountain guy is extremely suspect as a "source" IMO and I think it would be best just to drop him. That's all I have to say.
A brutal dictatorship has forced thousands of people to flee Eritrea – but seeking asylum many face violence and death
6-20-09 Last week, Abrehale Misghina, a 28-year-old Eritrean refugee, committed suicide in broad daylight in a public park in Tel Aviv. He had snatched a mobile phone from a young boy and, after a desperate attempt to make a call, collapsed in tears. He then returned the phone to its owner, dragged a dustbin to a nearby tree, climbed on top of it, threw a rope over a branch, placed a noose around his neck and hanged himself.
Misghina's story is typical of the suffering of Eritrean refugees and asylum seekers. Increasing numbers Eritreans have fled their country since President Isaias Afewerki came to power in 1993. Afewerki was initially hailed as a model leader, but is now seen as one of the worst dictators in Africa.
Meetings of more than seven people require permission in Eritrea. Internet use is monitored. There is no free press, independent judiciary or political opposition. Citizens, tourists and diplomats require permission to travel from one town to another. Military service conscripts are used as forced labour in development projects and, despite the failure of successive rains and imminent famine, food aid was outlawed in favour of a "work for food" programme, ostensibly designed to promote self-reliance, but which in reality ensures compliance.
The suppression of the press and of political opposition in September 2001 provided early indications of the authoritarian nature of the ruling regime. Then, in 2002, the government in effect outlawed every religious practice except Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Lutheranism and Sunni Islam, and increasingly detained practitioners of proscribed religious persuasions indefinitely without trial. Authorised groups face repression. Almost 3,000 of the estimated 20,000 Eritrean prisoners of conscience are Christians, detained pending denial of their faith. The ordained Orthodox patriarch was illegally deposed and placed under house arrest. Catholic property has been seized. About 40 Muslim clerics were indefinitely detained.
I have interviewed former prisoners of all faiths and none. They describe a myriad of inhumane punishments, including beatings, rape, people blinded by the sun after months/years imprisoned underground, prisoners bound for so long in contorted positions that limbs atrophy and are amputated, imprisonment in shipping containers, extra-judicial executions, and inadequate food, water and medical treatment.
Small wonder that thousands flee, despite a shoot-to-kill policy for escapees. Some pick their way through the mined and patrolled border with Ethiopia. Others cross the Sahara on foot to Sudan, but have found little hope of sanctuary since the country's rapprochement with Eritrea. Putting their lives in the hands of people smugglers, they try to escape to Libya, where they face severe mistreatment, racial discrimination and harsh detention. Some subsequently cross the Mediterranean in overcrowded, unseaworthy vessels hoping for refuge in Europe, where asylum is far from assured. Others enter Egypt, risking fines for illegal entry, harsh imprisonment and, worse still, forcible return to Eritrea. Those who cross into Israel run into the harsh reality of the modern state, where an anti-infiltration law may soon criminalise asylum seeking, and where they are either imprisoned or forced to live in slums.
The search for refuge has resulted in the deaths of an unknown number of Eritreans in the Sahara, the Mediterranean or, like Misghina, through suicide in foreign cities.
Human rights organisations recently pointed out that a European Union decision to release development aid to Eritrea is effect an economic lifeline for a repressive regime that will manipulate its distribution. Perhaps the EU would act differently if it considered the increase in the flow of refugees to its borders, and in their appalling suffering en route.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2009/jun/20/eritrea-ref...
Maybe Obama will send in the Marines.