City Press reports that the group of 95 Libyans arrested in White River were apparently the “problem children” of an influential opposition force in that country. They were part of General Khalifa Haftar’s Tariq Ben Zeyad Brigade which is trying to overthrow the UN recognized government in Tripoli and had ‘succumbed to substance misuse or other misconduct'.

READ: Inside secret Libyan military camp: 95 arrested amid illegal training allegations

The 95 were reportedly accompanied by a Libyan intermediary when they came to South Africa. The intermediary was supposed to provide the group with pocket money for necessities during their planned 36-week course at Milites Dei Security Services near White River.

However, he disappeared a few weeks ago, leaving the group without money. They then began selling their belongings to the local community for alcohol and drug money.

When the police raided the camp, they seized drugs such as cannabis and cocaine.

Media inquiries last week shed further light on the process that led to the approval of the Libyans’ visas after they had applied earlier this year at the South African embassy in Tunisia for security training in this country.

It appears that Milites Dei Security Services’ registration was thoroughly checked, but not that of Alama Alowla, the company which sent them.

The publication had documentation showing that the company only had a Gmail address. There were no other records of its existence. The embassy subsequently asked Milites Dei to provide more details about its training. However, no follow-up work was done to determine the identity of the Libyan party to the training agreement with Milites Dei.

Security sources say Alama Alowla is merely a front used by the Libyan opposition forces to disguise training in other countries.

Milites Dei subsequently responded to the embassy letter and presented evidence that it was registered with private security industry regulator Psira and Sasseta.

Based on this, visas for 100 applicants were approved and they began training in White River in April this year. Five of them were reportedly sent back to Libya due to misconduct, which is believed to be related to complaints from the local community.

The 95 who were arrested last week at Milites Dei’s training centre have been provisionally charged with misrepresentation in their visa applications.

READ: Libyans receiving military training in SA illegally, says police minister Mchunu

Libyan sources claim the contract with Milites Dei is worth about R36 million, half of which was paid as a deposit at the start of the contract, with the remainder due on completion.

Farmers in the White River area said in January this year that there was still no sign from the air of any camp on the farm used by Milites Dei. However, within three months, a neat military camp similar to the bush camps set up by the former defence force during the border war had sprung up.

Although the 95 Libyans have histories of behavioural problems, many of them have already undergone advanced military training, while Milites Dei’s directors, Bardo and Barnard Buys, are not known to have any military background.

The opposition force, of which the 95 are part, was established in eastern Libya after Gaddafi’s death.

Haftar hopes that the opposition can win the upcoming Libyan election and he can then become that country’s minister of defence.

His brigade has been involved in several attempts to bring down the current government, which is notorious for corruption. The UN’s sanctions against Libya also prohibit any military assistance to Haftar.

To circumvent these sanctions, training of Haftar’s soldiers is classified as “security training”.

One of the other countries providing similar training for Haftar is Colombia, while he also receives support from Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

According to the publication’s information, Defence Intelligence had conducted an inspection at the centre before the raid, but its findings are unknown. There was reportedly a dispute the night before Psira and the police’s raid over who should lead the investigation into the group’s presence in South Africa.

If the training was of a military nature, it would be contrary to the Foreign Military Assistance Act. This is regulated by the national conventional arms control committee and, therefore, the department of defence. Milites Dei was not registered with the committee as a service provider.

Security experts say it is very difficult to define the line between military and advanced security training in court.

Psira stated in a statement that the training was of a military nature.

The department of international relations and cooperation has not yet commented on the diplomatic embarrassment caused by the group’s presence in South Africa.

However, Correctional Services Minister Pieter Groenewald, leader of the Freedom Front Plus, said he had recently asked several questions in Parliament about the military training that foreign groups received in South Africa – especially in the Eastern Cape. He said: "The answer to this was repeatedly negative. The White River incident now provides irrefutable evidence that this is indeed the case and that government may have something to hide in the matter."

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