Blackwater Founder’s Firm to Build ‘Training Base’ in Xinjiang, China

BEIJING (Sputniknews): Frontier Services Group specialises in providing security, mostly for Chinese companies, in unstable and dangerous regions around the world. However, its founder Erik Prince is mainly known for being the founder of private military company Blackwater, whose contractors were involved in the infamous killing of 14 unarmed Iraqi citizens in 2007.

Hong Kong based Frontier Services Group (FSG), founded by Erik Prince, has signed a deal with Chinese authorities to build a training centre in the Xinjiang region of China, Reuters reported, citing a statement by the company. FSG didn’t provide any detail about what kind of centre it will be, what kind of training, or for whom it will provide the services.

According to the statement, the deal was inked during a ceremony on 11 January that was attended by Xinjiang’s officials and representatives from CITIC Guoan Construction. The deal suggests FSG will spend around $600,000 on the centre, which will be capable of training 8,000 people per year.

Frontier Services Group describes itself as a company providing security, logistics and insurance services, mostly for Chinese clients both inside the country and abroad. It provides its services to businesses operating in the world’s hotspots.

The Xinjiang region neighbours eight countries, including Pakistan and Afghanistan, which face a huge security problems due to various terrorist groups operating in their nations, including the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM). The group is listed as a terrorist organisation by the European Union, the United States, Russia, China, and other countries. The Chinese area is home to the mainly Muslim Uyghur minority, with anti-government insurgents operating in the region. Within the last two years, at least 200 people have died in attacks, allegedly carried out by Uyghur militants.

FSG was established by Erik Prince, who is known for being the founder of the notorious private military company Blackwater. Blackwater’s reputation suffered major blow after several of its contractors were accused of killing 17 Iraqi civilians, 14 of them without just cause in 2007. After a series of trials, one of them admitted his guilt, while four others were convicted of committing murder. One of them received a life sentence, while three others got 30 years in prison.