Blackwater provided security services for US troops in Iraq and was founded by Prince. He was CEO until 2009 and later chairman until the firm was sold in 2010. He now heads the private equity firm Frontier Resource Group but is also chair of the Hong Kong-listed Frontier Resource Group. He lives both in Abu Dhabi, UAE and In Middleburg Virginia.
In Iraq Blackwater became embroiled in controversy after what is called the Nissour Square Massacre: On September 16, 2007, employees of Blackwater Security Consulting, a private military company, shot at Iraqi civilians killing 17 and injuring 20 in Nisour Square, Baghdad while escorting a US embassy convoy.[1][2][3] The killings outraged Iraqis and strained relations between Iraq and the United States.[4] In 2014, four Blackwater employees were tried[5] and convicted in U.S. federal court; one of murder, and the other three of manslaughter and firearms charges.[6]
The pilots are flying converted Air Tractor attack planes IOXMAX AT-802 from the UAE. The mercenary pilots are said not to be Arab and most are American according to IOL. Prince has denied involvement in the UAE operations.
The UAE along with Egypt and now Russia are strong supporters of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar commander of the Libyan National Army associated with the government of the House of Representative. The first AT-802 was spotted at an airbase in Libya in June 2015 but with its national marking obliterated. In June of 2016 the Benghazi Revolutionaries Shura Council (BRSC) released photos showing an AT-802 in the sky in Benghazi over the Garfouda area that they controlled.
Eric Prince has close ties to the UAE as he moved to Abu Dhabi in 2010 in the same year he sold his stake in Blackwater. He founded Reflex Responses Company or R2 then. In January of 2011 he was hired by several Arab countries to train a private army of 2,000 Somalians. In May of the same year, the New York Times reported that the UAE had signed a contract with Reflex Responses worth $529 million. The contract was to recruit and train a “Security Support Group” of 800 members for counterrorism and internal security purposes. Prince’s Frontier Resources Group a logistic and transport company is investing in Africa with cash collected from Asian investors.
Haftar’s rival Libyan Dawn Air Force also hired foreign companies Glissada, Amber TIger and Caravana Middle East to recruit pilots for its small fleet of aircraft and helicopters in 2015. One pilot may have died when he crashed in June 2016 over Sirte, perhaps brought down by enemy fire. The House of Representatives (HoR) government has also recruited pilots under contract with various foreign countries including Moldova-based Sky Prim Air. Given the recent meetings between Haftar and Russian officials perhaps there will soon be Russian pilots competing with those of Eric Prince. As the appended video shows, Prince is suspected of other shady activities in Libya.
