Deadly, Dirty and Dark: Inside the ugly world of private military contractors

Wagner, a prominent private military contractor (PMC) was recently in newswhen it captured Bakhmut for Russia. Formed in 2014 with the Russian annexation of Crimea, Wagner remained under the dark shadows for several years before emerging as a potent force during ongoing Russia- Ukraine conflict. Today, over a hundred bigger and smaller PMCs are operating freely in the war zones of the world. Some are supported by developed economies like US, UK & Russia while some are working with the third-world governments of Africa. Globally they have been accused of gross human rights violations, massacres, Corruption, ill practices, and using people as human shields yet there is no action since they are actually private militia who are not accountable to anyone. They are dirty, they are deadly, they are full of dark secrets, they are unregulated, and they are doing dangerous things across the world.

The world of PMCs is not new. Almost two decades after WW-II in 1965, two veterans of the British Special Air Service (SAS), Lt Col David Stirling and Lt Col John Woodhouse established their PMC by the name of “Watchguard International”.Although the primary purpose was to train and assist the militaries and fight the poachers against elephant tusk smuggling, the company soon moved into the supply of weapons, assisting a coup, training, and equipping the militia, and providing trained soldiers to fight in the conflict zones. The world of these private armies has grown manifold since then.

One of the most notorious PMCs of the world is Blackwater or the Academi or the Constellis which has now been merged with another firm called “Triple Canopy”. Blackwater has been one of the most prominent contractors of the United States Government and has worked for them in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Bosnia, and other conflict zones worldwide. Probably the best-equipped PMC in the world, they have their own military aircraft, tanks, artillery, and sophisticated war machines including UAVs. They were also responsible for several cases of human rights violation including the “Nisour Square Massacre” in Iraq. Interestingly such acts of violations went unpunished in Iraq since Blackwater was granted total immunity from prosecution by the United States government. Although they were prosecuted and imprisoned after returning back to the US because of sheer international pressure later pardoned by their own president. There have been several other cases of violation where they went free after paying some monetary compensation to the families of the diseased.

Wagner PMC of Russia is probably the biggest PMC in the world with over 60,000 soldiers on their roll. Not only this, but they are also having the largest footprints across the globe. They are operating in Syria, Sudan, Central African Republic (CAR), Madagascar, Venezuela, Libya, Mozambique, Mali, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Chad, Moldova, and Serbia and have actively participated in the Ngorno-Karabakh war between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Like Blackwater, they are also accused of gross human rights violations in their areas of occupation. Also, they are notorious for recruiting convicts from Prisons to be used as cannon fodder in Ukraine. Despite being sanctioned by the United States, Wagner PMC has continued to grow and spread itself at an alarming rate across the world.

In addition to these, there were several other PMCs too which are operating globally. These include G4S & Aegis Defence of United Kingdom, American Dyncorp, Peruvian Define International and about two dozen Chinese PMCs primarily deployed to guard its Belt & Road initiative. Their world is growing very fast and their global market which was about $224bn in 2020 has now grown to over $300bn and it is expected to cross $500bn in another six years or so. These figures are for the organized PMCs, if we count the unorganized sector too, the size becomes 2-3 times.

So why are global powers like US and Russia relying on these war dogs? The answer is simple, they are cheap, they are reliable, and one does not have to be accountable for their actions. They are ready to do all sorts of dirty jobs for the government and can go to any extent to earn their profits. Globally a large number of military veterans retire at a young age, and they get easily absorbed into these PMCs for lucrative monthly or annual contracts. The proposition of these PMCs is simple. You are a contract soldier. You get good money as long as you live and fight, but you are not going to get any if you die. Unlike regular armies, these groups are free to recruit foreign nationals, criminals, prison convicts, or even terrorists in their ranks. Moreover, if we compare them with the regular armed forces, these PMCs can be deployed quickly all across the world without having any dependency on diplomatic connections.  Since, they are operating in another country with immunity against prosecution, corruption, and abuse are predominant among them. Not only this but since their area of operation is a country other than the one which hired them, they do not fall under the regular contracting laws too. 

Although “United Nations Mercenary Convention”, rolled out in 1989 & came into force in 2001 completely prohibits recruitment, training, use & financing of mercenaries in any war zone but unfortunately, none of the top military powers of the world including the United States, United Kingdom, Russia or China have signed or ratified it. There is an “International Code of Conduct for private security providers” but like the UN Mercenary Convention, most of the top PMCs have not joined it and since it is a non-state body, no one is compelled to do also.

As the number of conflicts is rising globally, the dark world of private military contractors is growing too. They are becoming better equipped, trained, lethal, and an unregulated force that can cause mayhem in the world. Surprisingly, the so-called torch bearers of the democracy like United States and the United Kingdom are the countries who are responsible for the rise of PMCs while the world is suffering.