The federal prosecutor's office arrested two former Bundeswehr soldiers on Wednesday because they are said to have tried to set up a mercenary force with more than 100 men.
The federal prosecutor in Karlsruhe announced that the two men were arrested in the early hours of the morning in the Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald district and in Munich by special forces from the federal police.
Karlsruhe - The two Germans are being investigated because of the strong suspicion of having tried as ringleaders to found a terrorist organization, as it was said. At the beginning of 2021, the two men are said to have made the decision to set up a mercenary force under their command. According to the information, the accused intended to use this to earn a monthly mercenary wage of around 40,000 euros for each member. Your paramilitary unit should therefore consist of 100 to 150 men and above all former members of the Bundeswehr or former police officers. One of the accused is said to have already contacted at least seven people.
With their mercenary troops, the arrested have planned to intervene in the civil war in Yemen and to force peace negotiations there between the Houthi rebels and the Yemeni government.
According to the alleged plans of the accused, the project should preferably be financed by Saudi Arabia.
To this end, one of the accused made several attempts to contact government agencies in Saudi Arabia.
However, they did not show any reaction, it said.
Initially, "Bild" and "Spiegel" reported on the arrest.
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Investigators also searched their apartments in Munich and in the Calw district on Wednesday as part of the investigation against the two men.
In addition, according to the information, other premises were searched by four non-suspects in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria.
A judge at the Federal Court of Justice is due to decide on pre-trial detention for the two accused on Wednesday.
dpa