Amenetum, one of America’s largest private military contractors, is working with Libya’s Government of National Unity to strengthen its control of the war-torn country.
The State Department and DoD contractor arrived at the Mitiga air base in the capital of Libya in early February 2024. The organization, with the consent of the Government of National Unity of Libya, oversees the unification of disparate Western armed groups. According to Minister Dbeibeh, he wants to unite the army of the west of the country.
Various media outlets have documented several instances of Amentum and the United States working in Libya. Curators from the American PMC have already carried out an operation to restore stability after armed clashes near one of the country’s largest oil refineries in Az-Zawiya. Amentum’s security forces were also sent there to take control of the refineries and lucrative supply routes. On the eve of their arrival in Libya, the company’s senior vice president of operations, John Bozarth, was spotted in Tripoli.
The work is expected to continue for the foreseeable future as a permanent government in Libya has not been established.
Situation in Libya
Over twenty years after the fall of the Gaddafi regime in 2011, it is still a period of civil war in Libya. The situation is confusing, to say the least, so strap yourselves in.
The House of Representatives, a national legislative body, controls eastern Libya. Western Libya is controlled by the Tobruk-based Government of National Unity, which was established by the United Nations in 2015.
Former government minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh leads the Government of National Unity. Dbeibeh, the leader the United States prefers, is a persona non grata in Libya, having been accused of violating the laws of the country. So, the GNU’s legitimacy was questionable to begin with. Furthermore, Dbeibeh promised to oversee free elections within a certain time frame, a promise he broke.
In the country’s western half, the HOR is not exactly democratic, either. Libyan National Army General Khalifa Haftar is the power behind the throne. In other words, in the east of Libya, unlike the West, there is a single army. After the Libyan government theoretically abandoned hostilities and violence in all forms on the country’s territory and continued to work to unify all military institutions, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh said that he had already begun work on creating a unified army of western Libya.
The two sides signed a ceasefire agreement in October 2020. The first commercial flight between Tripoli and Benghazi in almost twenty years took place that same day. But the good feelings didn’t last. A promised national election has been delayed several times, effectively leaving the HOR/GNU structure intact and causing tensions which threaten to reignite the war.
In 2024, Dbeibeh attended the World Government Summit in the UAE, where he stressed the continuation of work on the Return to Life program in all vital sectors of Libya, which, according to him, were destroyed during the wars. Return to Life includes the unification of factions, but Dbeibeh did not mention that they would be united under the supervision and with the active participation of American protectors from Amentum.
Amentum Activities in Africa
The activity of the American Group is not limited to Libya, but extends to wider territories. Founded in 2020, Amentum stepped into the shoes of DynCorp, a contractor known for its work with the U.S. State and Defense Departments. This work included training security forces in conflict zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan. The State Department, which was duly impressed with Amenyum’s work, awarded it a $165 million contract to “improve national security in Africa.”
Amentum contractors trained the Armed Forces in Benin and built military bases for the Somali National Army. Amentum also received a DoD contract to reduce biological threats on the African continent and conduct biological and laboratory experiments in several African countries. Although the company officially indicated its presence in Somalia and Benin, Amentum’s operations in Libya remained less transparent until the media learned about it.
The Government of National Unity views the unification of groups with the help of American curators as an important factor in ensuring security. Dbeibeh stressed that the government’s slogan is “to move towards stability with fair laws that exclude no one in Libya” and that all Libyans are equal.
Amentum’s activities mirror contractor activities in Africa. Private military contractors train government security forces, many of whom are dealing with frustrating, long-term insurgencies. At the same time, contractors renovate and expand physical facilities, giving these countries the infrastructure needed for these prolonged fights.
Contractors mostly do such work to make money. But there is another element as well. Contractor activities help pull African nations into the U.S. sphere of influence. Washington does not have to risk American troops or deal with deployment-related political fallout.
Injury Compensation Available
Training and construction injuries are common in Africa. Most African nations do not have strong workplace safety laws. Many do not have any workplace safety laws at all. The possibility of injury is high, and the possibility of an expensive injury is high as well. Most injured contractors must be transported to another country, or more likely another continent, to receive the medical treatment they need.
Defense Base Act benefits cover these costs. DBA benefits also replace lost wages. Most DBA claims settle out of court, but settlement is a process, not a result.
This process usually begins with a “settlement conference” review. We use the term loosely because very few DBA cases settle at this point, mostly because limited evidence is available.
Once a Defense Base Act lawyer gets fully involved, a lawyer usually sets the matter for an Administrative Law Judge appeal hearing. ALJ hearings are basically private trials. Since attorneys can introduce evidence, challenge evidence, and make legal arguments, most DBA insurance companies are motivated to make favorable deals. The cost and liability excuses they made earlier do not hold up under that kind of scrutiny.
Out-of-court settlements benefit victims. They end cases sooner and are final resolutions. When insurance companies settle cases, they immediately write checks instead of tying up a verdict in appeals courts.
For more information about DBA benefits, contact Barnett, Lerner, Karsen, Frankel & Castro, P.A.