The Defence Forces of Ireland, under the military intelligence department, have been striving to prevent its staff from venturing to Libya to offer training assistance to unregulated army units. This move clearly illustrates the armed forces’ anxiety surrounding potential damage to its reputation. Irish Training Solutions, a security firm established by ex-Army Ranger Wing members and located in Offaly, has been offering training services to factions of the Libyan National Army, steered by Khalifa Haftar, a Russian-approved general.
The predicament for the Irish Government and Defence Forces lies in the fact that ITS has been recruiting from the Army Ranger Wing, the Defence Forces most advanced unit. Providing military training is included in the sanctions imposed on Libya by the United Nations and the European Union.
The prospect of inflicting harm to the global reputation of Ireland is significant. As a countermeasure, J2, the Irish military intelligence department, has been scrutinising the bank records of current soldiers to seek probable connections to private military contracts undertaken by Irish security firms. This is being conducted in the context of companies like ITS hiring serving Defence Forces staff, inclusive of former Army Ranger Wing members; specific soldiers’ bank accounts were audited for uncommon payments received from external parties. Individuals with ITS connections have also been interrogated.
The Garda has been assigned with the responsibility of investigating if any illicit activities were carried out. Additionally, Tánaiste Micheál Martin is considering the introduction of laws to impede ex and current soldiers from executing private security responsibilities in nations that are under international sanctions. There is extensive visual proof that includes pictures and video clippings showcasing former Irish soldiers providing weapons training to the members of the 166th Infantry Brigade, led by Haftar.
Other images reveal ITS founder Danny Cluskey signing documents in the office of Saddam Haftar, Khalifa’s son, who holds numerous high-ranking posts in the LNA, the principal resistance to the government in Tripoli, which is backed by the UN.
In response to queries and making its first public statement on the issue, ITS refuted claims of ever signing an agreement with Haftar. “Neither now nor in the past has there been any contractual agreement between Mr Khalifa Haftar and Irish Training Solutions”, the firm asserted.
The firm from Offaly has confirmed its engagement with the Libyan National Oil Corporation, a corporation managed and fully owned by the state, in providing services related to security training. The security training is dedicated towards arming the National Oil Corporation with protection measures for their vital infrastructure and assets, according to the firm. It was further revealed that the contract with Irish Training Solutions was entered directly by the Libyan National Oil Corporation, which holds the entire responsibility of governing Libya’s oil and gas yield and overseeing every petroleum-associated activities within the nation. However, when queried further to clarify the relationship between the security training they provide for the state oil firm and the training given to Haftar’s 166th infantry brigade, there was a silence from Irish Training Solutions, offering no response to the more intricate inquiries related to the issue.