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News > World

Mexican, Colombian 'Blackwater' Mercenaries Killed in Yemen

  • A Mexican, Argentine, about six Colombians among the 15 Blackwater mercenaries killed in two days.

    A Mexican, Argentine, about six Colombians among the 15 Blackwater mercenaries killed in two days. | Photo: Reuters

Published 10 December 2015
Opinion

About 15 Blackwater mercenaries have been killed in Yemen since Tuesday, according to local reports.

A Mexican mercenary commander and an Argentine soldier of fortune working for a U.S. military firm Blackwater in Yemen died in fierce combats in the southeastern Yemeni city Taiz, local media reported Thursday.

The Mexican mercenary has been identified as Macias Bacneba, who was killed Wednesday in clashes between Yemeni and foreign forces, security sources told local media.

RELATED: 450 Colombian Ex Soldiers Sent by UAE to Fight Houthis in Yemen

The death of Bacneba occurred as Yemeni army units backed by popular movement known as Ansarullah attempted to halt the advance on Taiz of the coalition led by Saudi Arabia, who began attacking Yemen in March and has since killed or injured over 7,500 people in the Arab country, most of whom were civilians, according to U.N. figures.

The Mexican and Argentine mercenaries are part of a huge Blackwater 1,800-strong force of Latin American soldiers, which has been training in United Arab Emirates to fight for Saudi Arabia in Yemen.

Recently, UAE deployed about 450 Colombian mercenaries to Yemen to fight with the Saudi-led coalition that is attempting to put under control the Houthis.

“The United Arab Emirates has secretly dispatched hundreds of Colombian mercenaries to Yemen to fight in that country’s raging conflict, adding a volatile new element in a complex proxy war that has drawn in the United States and Iran,” the New York Times said.

On Tuesday, six Colombians and and an Australian commander also working for Blackwater were killed in the Al-Omari region in Taiz, HispanTV said.

According to Yemen's al-Masirah news website, a total of 15 Blackwater mercenaries have been killed since Tuesday.

Blackwater Worldwide, known as Academi, is one the best known private security firms in the world and is responsible for killing many civilians in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Yemen, according to AFP.

WATCH: Blackwater Security Guards Guilty of Iraq Homicides

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