Dyck Advisory Group

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Dyck Advisory Group (or DAG) is a private military company based in Velddrif, South Africa.

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History

The firm was founded in 2012 by Lionel Dyck, [1] an ex-military colonel [2] who had served in the Rhodesian Security Forces and then the Zimbabwe Defence Forces. He fought as part of the Zimbabwean intervention force that assisted the Mozambican government against RENAMO during the Mozambican Civil War. At the time, he forged good relations in the Mozambican governing party FRELIMO and with later Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Following the Mozambican Civil War, Dyck continued to be involved in Mozambique, participating in demining and anti-poaching operations. [3]

The Dyck Advisory Group specializes in demining and anti-poaching services, and has customers around the world. [4] From 2019, the firm became active in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique, where they helped to fight a local Islamist insurgency. The company was hired by police chief Bernardino Rafael, and helped to train local policemen besides fighting the rebels. [3] [5] The Dyck Advisory Group's troops operate and charter out several Bat Hawk light aircraft, [6] and have deployed 3 Aérospatiale Gazelles, 2 Eurocopter AS350 Écureuils, and 1 Aérospatiale Alouette III in Cabo Delgado. [7]

In 2021, Amnesty International reported that during operations in Mozambique, the firm's operatives fired machine guns from helicopters and dropped hand grenades indiscriminately into crowds of people, as well as repeatedly firing at civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, schools, and homes. [3] [8]

In the Battle of Palma of March and April 2021, the company assisted the Mozambican military and police forces in combating the attacking insurgents. According to Dyck, his operatives engaged several of the terrorists as well as rescued wounded policemen and trapped civilians. [2] [5] [9] The rescue conducted in part by the Dyck Advisory Group was accused of rescuing white contractors before local black civilians by Amnesty International. [10] [11]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palma, Mozambique</span> Town in Mozambique

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mocímboa da Praia</span> Place in Cabo Delgado Province, Mozambique

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Insurgency in Cabo Delgado</span> Armed conflict in Cabo Delgado Province, Mozambique

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mocímboa da Praia offensive</span> Islamic State operation during the Insurgency in Cabo Delgado

The Mocímboa da Praia offensive was a six day long offensive in northern Mozambique by Islamic State's Central African Province (IS-CAP) to capture the town of 30,000. The offensive, part of the insurgency in Cabo Delgado, was a major success for IS-CAP, as they captured Mocímboa da Praia.

Abu Yasir Hassan, also known as "Yaseer Hassan" or as "Abu Qasim", is a Tanzanian national who currently serves as one of the leaders of the Islamic State's Mozambique province. By August 2020, the group had evolved into a proto-state after the group captured Mocímboa da Praia and several other areas of Cabo Delgado Province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Palma</span> Battle for the control of Palma in Mozambique

The Battle of Palma or the Battle for Palma was fought during late March and early April 2021 over control of the city of Palma in Mozambique, between the Mozambique Defence Armed Forces, other Mozambican security forces and private military contractors on one side, and Islamist rebels reportedly associated with the Islamic State (IS) on another side. The Islamists invaded the city, killing dozens of people before Mozambique regained control days later. Palma was left destroyed, and a major oil and gas company decided to suspend all operations in the area due to the battle. Researchers have described the battle as an overall success for the insurgents. The rebels also maintained their presence in the town's surroundings, and continued to raid Palma in the following weeks. The battle was part of the insurgency in Cabo Delgado, which started in 2017 and has resulted in the deaths of thousands of people, mainly local civilians.

Lionel Dyck SCZ, also referred to as Colonel Dyck, is a Zimbabwean mercenary and former soldier. He was born in 1944 in Southern Rhodesia and served with the Rhodesian Army and Zimbabwe Defence Forces before founding Dyck Advisory Group (DAG) to offer protective military services in Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Cabo Delgado offensives</span>

From July to November 2021, the Mozambique Defence Armed Forces (FADM) and Rwanda Defence Force (RDF), and belligerents from Southern African Development Community (SADC) states, conducted offensives in Cabo Delgado Province, Mozambique, against local rebels loyal to the Islamic State's Central Africa Province (IS-CAP). The first offensive succeeded in retaking the important town of Mocímboa da Praia which had previously fallen to rebels as a result of the insurgency in Cabo Delgado.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Union Training Mission in Mozambique</span> EU force to train Mozambiques Armed Forces

EUTM-Moz is a European Union multinational military training mission headquartered in Maputo, Mozambique.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern African Development Community Mission in Mozambique</span> Peacekeeping mission

The Southern African Development Community Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) is an active regional peacekeeping mission operated by the Southern African Development Community in Northern Mozambique's Cabo Delgado Province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Mucojo</span> Military engagement

The Battle of Mucojo was a military engagement between unidentified anti-Islamist militants, Islamic State affiliates, and the Mozambique Defence Armed Forces in the coastal town of Mucojo during the Insurgency in Cabo Delgado. It started on 22 April 2021 when anti-Islamist militants took control of Mucojo and nearby villages including Lumumua. The militants started a killing spree near Mucojo after the Mozambique Army retook many villages near Mucojo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Mbau</span>

The Battle of Mbau was a battle by the joint Mozambican-Rwandan armed forces against ISIS and Al-Shabab in their headquarters of Mbau, a town 50 kilometers southwest of Mocimboa da Praia. The attack on the location was part of the 2021 Cabo Delgado offensives. Mbau was known as the headquarters of Al-Shabaab and the Mozambican counteroffensive on the town resulted in the loss of Mbau, Siri 1, and Siri 2.

References

  1. ↑ "DYCK ADVISORY GROUP - K2012198102 - South Africa". b2bhint.com. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  2. 1 2 David McKenzie (30 March 2021). "Leader of mercenary group in Mozambique says that ISIS-linked insurgents hold Palma". CNN. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 Gordon Feller (7 April 2021). "An overview of foreign security involvement in Mozambique". DefenceWeb. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  4. ↑ Hanlon, Joseph (27 July 2020). "Mozambique: Mercenaries to the Fore as Dyck Contract Extended". allAfrica.com. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  5. 1 2 "Cabo Ligado Weekly: 29 March-4 April" (PDF). Cabo Ligado (ACLED, Zitamar News, Mediafax). 6 April 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  6. ↑ "MOZAMBIQUE/SOUTH AFRICA : Cabo Delgado: Dyck Advisory Group's loses one surveillance aircraft after another - 26/06/2020". Africa Intelligence. 26 June 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  7. ↑ Andrew Harding; Philippe Chapleau (31 March 2021). "Mozambique: le fondateur de Dyck Advisory Group revient sur l'engagement de la SMP". Lignes de défense. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  8. ↑ "Mozambique: Civilians killed as war crimes committed by armed group, government forces, and private military contractors – new report". Amnesty International. 2 March 2021. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  9. ↑ Meldrum, Andrew (29 March 2021). "Rebels leave beheaded bodies in streets of Mozambique town". Associated Press. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  10. ↑ "Mozambique: Rescue attempts jeopardized by racial discrimination following Palma attack – new survivors' testimony". Amnesty International. 13 May 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  11. ↑ "White people rescued before Black people in Palma: Amnesty". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 7 September 2021.


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