Mercenaries get Syrian call-up
Michel Najem
Mercenaries get Syrian call-up
Jon Swain
BRITISH mercenaries have been offered tens of thousands of pounds to fight in
Syria as a power struggle between President Hafez al-Assad and his brother
intensifies.
The mercenaries were approached in London and asked if they would intervene to
protect the military power base of Rifaat al-Assad, the president's younger
brother, at the port of Latakia, where he maintains a luxurious seaside home.
American congressmen have long accused Rifaat - under the cloak of privilege -
of being one of the leading barons of the Middle East drug trade. Latakia, 125
miles northwest of Damascus, is known to western police forces as an important
outlet for smuggling heroin and marijuana from Turkey and Lebanon to Europe.
The two Assads have been in periodic confrontation for many years. Relations
deteriorated dramatically last year when Hafez, 69, who is suffering from heart
problems and diabetes, finally stripped Rifaat of his post as vice-president.
The sequence of events established by The Sunday Times began on October 10, with
a telephone call to the Herefordshire home of Dean Shelley, a British mercenary.
Shelley had fought in Zimbabwe with the Rhodesian Light Infantry and in Angola
with a pathfinder company of an elite South African parachute unit. He is also
wanted in Colombia for allegedly training private armies used by cocaine cartels
in their war against the government.
More recently he settled down in a Herefordshire farmhouse with his wife, Lindi
St Clair, better known as Miss Whiplash. Now in his forties, his arms covered in
tattoos and evidently very fit, he remains a substantial figure in the murky
world of security and runs a company called Grey Areas International.
Shelley says the phone call was from a man called "Richard", who said he was
acting on behalf of an Arab and gave a number in the Czech Republic. He
indicated Shelley might need to recruit about 20 hired guns.
The next day Shelley drove to London to meet "Richard" outside the Burger King
restaurant in Piccadilly. "I said I would be driving a red Porsche or a green
Jeep. He was very punctual and came out at 11 o'clock exactly and we drove
around."
"Richard" turned out to be a former British soldier who had served in the
military police. According to Shelley, he was working for a supporter of Rifaat
who lives in London.
"Richard" told Shelley he should have his men in place "for a small paramilitary
operation in a foreign country" by October 26, and the two met again for more
talks at an Italian restaurant in Frith Street, Soho, two days later.
Here "Richard" revealed that the foreign country was Syria and that the
mercenaries were needed to launch a counter-offensive against Syrian
presidential security forces who had attacked Rifaat's residence in Latakia.
He said the operation had been conceived by his boss and the deal would be
finalised quickly at Puerto Banus in Marbella, on the Costa del Sol, where
Rifaat's family has substantial property holdings.
Shelley and "Richard" flew to Malaga on October 16. At Puerto Banus they stayed
at the Benabola hotel, owned by Rifaat's family, awaiting further instructions.
These were not long in coming.
According to Shelley, the mercenary raid had by then been enlarged and become a
more complicated operation. "Not only did they want us to defend Rifaat's
residence, they also wanted us to go on the offensive," Shelley said.
"Rifaat could count on ordinary soldiers' loyalty in the security forces but not
the officer corps, and he wondered if it was possible for us to assault their
camp."
Rifaat was said to be against killing any men at the camp other than the
officers. He apparently expected the other ranks to side with him.
"I said, 'Yes, in principle - shoot 'em, pop 'em, rinse 'em, I have nothing
against that.' But I realised it was much more serious than it originally seemed
to be," Shelley admitted.
Back in Herefordshire, St Clair was making preliminary contact on Shelley's
instructions with mercenaries, including some in South Africa and Colombia.
Shelley submitted his budget: he wanted £10,000 immediately to pay his
travelling expenses, while each mercenary would be paid between £7,500 and
£10,000. "I saw it as an operation that would be done and dusted in a couple of
months," he said.
Shelley's proposal that two six-man teams would initially enter Latakia unarmed
by boat from Cyprus was accepted through "Richard". Once they had reconnoitred
the target and made contact with Rifaat's loyalists, they would call in the rest
of the team, who would be in position to launch the assault on or by October 26.
All Shelley needed was confirmation that the money had been deposited in the
Grey Areas account.
Last Monday, however, "Richard" was summoned to another urgent meeting with his
boss and was ordered to tell Shelley that the raid had been cancelled. An angry
Shelley is now demanding fees and expenses of £3,750.
Grey Areas has addressed a letter to a member of Rifaat's family in London. It
says: "We have been approached by the British media with regards to certain
matters on which our operatives attended meetings in the UK and in Spain . . .
We offer a confidential service to our clients.
"We regret that our account has not been paid, nor has the matter of a penalty
for cancellation of contract been addressed. This leaves us in a difficult
situation. We enclose our invoice and we invite your proposal for settlement by
return."
The involvement of mercenaries in the continuing Syrian power struggle is either
a sign of desperation in the Rifaat camp, Middle East experts say, or it was a
plot dreamt up by headstrong supporters in London.
Rifaat himself is no stranger to tough military action, but this fiasco does not
reflect his previous record of ruthless efficiency. In 1982 he oversaw an
offensive that crushed an uprising by the Muslim Brotherhood, a fundamentalist
movement, in the city of Hama in an operation that killed thousands.
The future for Rifaat now appears bleak. His brother has been trying to close
Latakia since 1995. Last week his security forces, possibly acting on the orders
of Colonel Bashar al-Assad, the president's 34-year-old son and designated
successor, appear to have pre-empted the mercenaries' operation.
Bashar, an opthalmologist, is well known in Syria for spearheading an
anti-corruption drive and has sought to consolidate his own power in the Latakia
region.
Official Syrian sources say presidential forces have dismantled Rifaat's
military power base and returned his supporters to their army units.
Rifaat's version, broadcast by the Arab News Network, a satellite television
station owned by his son Somar, contrasted sharply with the official account.
The station reported that security forces had stormed his seaside compound,
where many women and children lived, causing casualties.
The attack followed a siege lasting several days. Electricity and telephone
lines were cut, and deliveries of food and water were halted.
Rifaat issued a statement expressing "deep sorrow for the victims on both sides,
since there was no justification for launching the attack".
Foreign diplomats in Damascus regard the confrontation as one of the gravest of
Assad's rule. They do not discount further fighting but believe the president is
likely to emerge with his power intact.
"LEBANON IS FOR LEBANESE"
RodrYguez
pinalty on all of them.
Kundera says " Le pire ennemi est celui qui, sous couvert de
fraternité, s'immisce en traître aimable" = the worst ennemy is the
one who, under the cover of fraternity, crawls like a loving traitor.
Rod
On 25 Oct 1999 13:06:00 -0700, Michel Najem
xenolith
If we go by the predictions on SCL that Lebanon would crumble soon after
Syria, it makes one feel like sending a congratulations card to Bashar for a
job well done.