Sandline International

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Sandline International was a private military company based in London, established in the early 1990s. It was involved in conflicts in Papua New Guinea in 1997 (having a contract with the government under the then Prime Minister Julius Chan) causing the Sandline affair, in 1998 in Sierra Leone (having a contract with illegally ousted President Kabbah) and in Liberia in 2003 (in a rebel attempt to evict the then-president Charles Taylor near the end of the civil war). He had been contacted by Rakesh Saxena, an Indian financier hoping that a new government would grant him diamond and mineral concessions. Sandline ceased all operations on 16 April 2004. On the company's website, a reason for closure is given:

“

The general lack of governmental support for Private Military Companies willing to help end armed conflicts in places like Africa, in the absence of effective international intervention, is the reason for this decision. Without such support the ability of Sandline to make a positive difference in countries where there is widespread brutality and genocidal behaviour is materially diminished.[1]

”

Sandline was managed by former British Army Lt Col Tim Spicer. Sandline billed itself as a "Private Military Company" (PMC) and offered military training, "operational support" (equipment and arms procurement and limited direct military activity), intelligence gathering, and public relations services to governments and corporations. While the mass media often referred to Sandline as a mercenary company, the company's founders disputed that characterization. It has been rumored that some, if not most of Sandline's personnel, are now part of Aegis Defence Services company.

Tim Spicer recounted his experiences with Sandline in the book An Unorthodox Soldier.

[edit] Further reading

[2] Licensed to Kill, Hired Guns in the War on Terror by Robert Young Pelton (Crown, Sept 1, 2006)
Tim Spicer, An Unorthodox Soldier, Mainstream Pub Co Ltd, 2000, ISBN 1-84018-349-7
P. W. Singer, Corporate Warriors, The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry, Cornell University Press, 2003, ISBN 0-8014-8915-6
Michael Bilton "The Private War of Tumbledown Tim", London Sunday Times Magazine special investgiation and cover story, 2nd July, 2000.