The Irish Times view on ex-army troops in Libya: a blow to the Defence Forces

Tánaiste Micheál Martin was correct when he said that the revelations in the Irish Times about former members of the Defence Forces training a brigade in Libya were shocking and cause " reputational damage to Ireland and our Defence Forces”. The training provided by an Irish company to the forces of rogue Libyan general Khalifa Haftar was an apparent breach of a UN arms embargo and runs directly counter to Government policy.

The training took place last year in the eastern region of the country controlled by Haftar, who is backed by the Russian Wagner group and a number of Arab states in his opposition to the government in Tripoli, which is recognised by the UN. It was organised by a company called Irish Training Solutions, which hired former and departing members of the Army Rangers Wing and Defence Forces to undertake the project.

Concern had already been raised in the Defence Forces, who heard reports of what was happening and launched their own investigation. Senior personnel were concerned about the reputational damage to the military , particularly as earlier last year an Irish Naval Service ship was involved in an EU operation in the Mediterranean to help enforce the arms embargo.

Following contacts from the Defence Forces, An Garda Síochána also launched an investigation. They say that at this point nothing has emerged to suggest a breach of Irish criminal law. And now the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the body responsible for ensuring compliance with UN sanctions, is also investigating.

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While more details may emerge, there are already some obvious questions. The participation of ex-Army personnel in this exercise, including former members of the highly-trained Army Ranger Wing, appears to run directly counter to Ireland’s support for the UN sanctions.

The rules applying to former Defence Forces personnel – and their freedom to “sell” expertise gained during their time in service – must now be examined. While members of the Defence Forces remain subject to military law for six months after they leave, this relates to actions before their departure, while they were on active service. As the bulk of those involved in the training had left the forces, they may thus not be in breach of any Army rules. That said, their presence in Libya, at least some wearing Irish military insignia, is deeply embarrassing for the Defence Forces, as well as potentially creating wider diplomatic issues for the State.

Compliance with UN sanctions rests with individual countries and Ireland needs to ensure that Irish citizens and companies are not in breach of these. The Government will hope that the various investigations underway will point the way to ensuring this is achieved.