Lionel Dyck

Dyck, who was commander of the parachute battalion during Gukurahundi and a former major in the Rhodesian African Rifles, which fought against Zimbabwe's liberation movements, is alleged to have participated in several acts of torture.^[1] He was the commander of the Paratroopers from 1983-1984.

Lionel Dyck

He was also involved in the 1981 Entumbane Uprising along with his former RAR troops against the ZIPRA elements.

Business

MineTech

Dyck co-founded MineTech with two others. The company secured mine action contracts (landmines and ERW) from many donors to clear landmines and Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) around the world, including Bosnia, Kosovo, Somaliland, Mozambique, Iraq, and Lebanon.^[2]

Dyck Advisory Group Conservation Trust

The Dyck Advisory Group Conservation Trust (DAGCT) is a non-profit organisation that carries out conservation and wildlife protection through its counter-poaching operations. The organisation worked in the Mozambique a 1.2 million hectare Limpopo National Park.^[3]

Mercenary Services in Mozambique

In 2021 he was hired by the Mozambican government through his private security company to assist in fighting the Islamic terrorists. Dyck Advisory Group operated three helicopters in Cabo Delgado northern coast, one Gazelle gunship, one Bell UH I Huey and one Bell 406 Long Ranger and one fixed-wing Diamond DA42. They joined another Gazelle and a Cessna Caravan fixed-wing personnel carrier which had arrived in Pemba.^[4]

The Dyck Advisory Group was implicated in a report by Amnesty International of killing civilians. According to 53 witnesses who spoke to Amnesty International, DAG operatives fired machine guns from helicopters and dropped hand grenades indiscriminately into crowds of people, as well as repeatedly fired at civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, schools, and homes.

One woman, who witnessed fighting in Mocímboa de Praia in late June 2020, said:

“Two helicopters came, one shooting and dropping bombs. One group [of civilians] that was running raised their hands and they were not shot. But another group that was with the bandits did not raise their hands and they were shot. Many people died there.”

During an attack on the town of Mocímboa in June 2020, DAG helicopters destroyed a hospital as they took aim at ‘Al-Shabaab’ fighters hiding inside the facility.

One woman, who was trapped for six days inside her home near the hospital, said:

“…the helicopters shot against everything and everyone. For them it was no longer possible to know who was who. The majority of terrorists were in the hospital, thinking the helicopters could not attack. But one helicopter realized this, so they decided to bombard the hospital, that’s how the hospital was completely destroyed.”

^[5]

In March 2021, the Dyck Group's helicopter gunships in Palma were used to rescue trapped civilians and to fight the rebels.^[6]

References