Ex-soldiers arrested: Mission: pacify Yemen

Two ex-Bundeswehr soldiers are said to have tried to set up a mercenary force to intervene in the civil war in Yemen. Now they have been arrested.

In the early hours of the morning, officers from the GSG 9 special unit arrested the two ex-soldiers Arend-Adolf G. and Achim A. in their apartments in Munich and near Lenzkirch in Baden-Württemberg. The accusation: The two men are said to have tried to set up a mercenary force to intervene in a military conflict. This was preceded by extensive investigations by the Federal Criminal Police Office.

It all began with a reference to the Bundeswehr Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD). A man had reported to the MAD that two men had approached him and wanted to win over for the mercenary force. The notice turned into an investigation for the Attorney General.

The federal prosecutor’s office accuses the two 52 and 60-year-old suspects G. and A. of wanting to set up a 100 to 150-strong mercenary force. With this force they wanted to intervene according to the investigation in the civil war in Yemen. Apparently they had the idea of ​​being able to contribute to the pacification of the country and to force peace negotiations between the Houthi rebels and the Yemeni government. According to the investigators’ findings, the business model also envisaged intervening militarily in other conflicts.

Money should come from Saudi Arabia

In order to realize their plans, the two accused are said to have already contacted at least seven former members of the Bundeswehr or former police officers in order to recruit them for their troops. They are said to have promised to pay 40,000 euros per month. The investigator G. was responsible for the recruitment.

Four people were searched this morning in connection with this, but they are not listed as suspects in the trial. However, the two accused seemed a long way from realizing their business idea. Also because the financing was not guaranteed. The two men apparently had hardly any money of their own and probably did not pursue any regular work.

However, A. is said to have repeatedly and persistently contacted government representatives in Saudi Arabia over a longer period of time – with the aim of winning them over to finance the plans, the Federal Prosecutor announced. The inquiries to Saudi Arabia therefore remained unanswered.

Controversial security company Asgaard

The investigators nevertheless assume that the two men had the necessary skills to put the plans into practice. Both had military training in the Bundeswehr. According to information from ARD capital studio, SWR and the ARD-Political magazine Contrasts A. worked as a paratrooper instructor in Altenstadt until 1999, G. worked with the hunters until 1983 and then repeatedly participated in military exercises until 2009.

In addition, the two accused had meanwhile worked for the private security company Asgaard. Had about Asgaard Contrasts reported several times and the alleged right-wing extremist attitudes of some employees made public.

Opposite to Contrasts A. confirmed in September 2020 that he had been active in Iraq since 2008 and worked there as the head of operations for Asgaard. He claimed he was networked with various embassies and also with secret services such as the CIA. A video that Contrasts is available, shows Achim A. and Arend-Adolf G. with other specially trained workers from Asgaard in Iraq. It is evening, they are sitting around a table and singing the Kretalied – a false hunter song from the Nazi era.

“Hotbed of Terrorist Violence”

The left-wing member of the Bundestag Martina Renner has been dealing with Asgaard for years and warns of the danger that emanates from the scene. She calls for a closer look at the military and security companies:

“We are dealing with a hotbed of terrorist violence. The case clearly shows the threat posed by this milieu, which combines conservatives, extreme right and mercenaries. The fact that these companies are only coming into the focus of the GBA after years is certainly also due to the connections between central people in the Bundeswehr and security policy.

Accusation: founding a terrorist organization

The federal prosecutor’s office is investigating a senior executive of the company who is said to have issued a death threat against Renner, which he denies. According to information from, the investigators see a connection to the investigations around the plans to set up a mercenary force ARD capital studio, SWR and Contrasts not yet.

Since it is about the recruitment of people with the aim of killing people in a civil war zone, the federal prosecutor accuses the accused of having attempted to form a terrorist group. But it was not about carrying out attacks in Germany – and the possible planned mercenary troops do not necessarily correspond to the image of the classic terrorist association that the Federal Prosecutor usually deals with. But from a legal point of view, the investigators are concerned with the same criminal offense.

Achim A. Member of the CSU working group

Achim A. most recently worked as a security advisor. He is a CSU member and shared Contrasts with that he was a functionary in the district executive committee of the working group for foreign and security policy (ASP). According to the CSU, the ASP is one of the party’s largest working groups with around 4,000 members. He sees himself as the “initiator and mouthpiece of the CSU in all questions of foreign, security, European and development policy”. Arend-Adolf G. is said to have worked temporarily as a driver.

Both were brought before the investigating judge at the Federal Court of Justice in the afternoon, who executed the arrest warrant.