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January 21, 2011

Report: Blackwater Founder Behind Apartheid-Linked Firm's Somalia Bid 
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The founder of the private military firm Blackwater is reportedly
backing another company's bid to involve itself in Somalia's civil war.
An African Union report cited by the New York Times says Erik Prince
provided the initial funding for South Africa-based Saracen
International's effort to win contracts from the Somali government. The
contract would reportedly involve training Somali soldiers and militias,
and combating alleged militants and pirates off the African coast.
Saracen International is run by a former officer in South Africa's Civil
Cooperation Bureau, an apartheid-era force known for killing government
opponents. The African Union report also describes Prince as being "at
the top of [Saracen's] management chain." The Somali government has yet
to announce its decision on the company's bid.



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