Khamis Gaddafi Recruits Mercenaries to Shoot Protestors

Rania Masri, a Lebansese activist, said via her Twitter account that analysts think the mercenaries may be from Chad, a French-speaking African country.

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African leaders are no strangers to the concept for hiring foreign mercenaries. Indeed, many have been accused of importing mercenaries in the past – both from other African countries and outside of Africa. 

In Gaddafi’s case, using mercenaries provide a key advantage: these paid soldiers will have no problem killing Libyans, whereas some of Libya’s own military personnel are hesitant. 

Moreover, even before the massive protests, Libya is a country that historically fractured along regional and tribal divide, and the Libyan army may be defecting along those same lines.

Thus, the specter of a civil/regional war may be another incentive for Gaddafi to import outside help whose loyalty is to him (or his money) alone.

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