Australian special forces deployed into Zimbabwe

A SECRET squadron of Australian SAS soldiers has been operating clandestinely in Zimbabwe over the last year, an Australian newspaper sensationally claimed on Monday.

The special forces unit - dressed in civilian clothes - also deployed in Nigeria and Kenya on intelligence gathering missions, The Age newspaper reported.
 
The unit's operations put it on the "outer reaches of Australian and international law," defence experts said.

The African operations by SAS 4 Squadron initially centred on possible rescue scenarios for endangered Australian citizens, such as freelance journalist Nigel Brennan, who was held by Somali rebels.

The soldiers have also assessed border controls, explored landing sites for possible military interventions and developed scenarios for evacuating Australians, as well as assessing local politics.

The intelligence gathered by the Australian soldiers "all flows into databases used by the United States and its allies in Africa," The Age reported.

But the operations have raised serious concerns within the Australian military and intelligence community because they involve countries where Australia is not at war.

The revelations come just weeks after an Australian couple were detained by Zimbabwean police and accused of spying before being deported.

Although the charges were unproven, it would suggest a level of heightened awareness in Zimbabwe's intelligence community about the presence of Australian mercenaries on Zimbabwean soil.

Last Saturday, Nathaniel Manheru, a columnist for the Herald newspaper who is widely believed to be President Robert Mugabe's official spokesman, George Charamba, teasingly made reference to the arrest of "western special forces... a few weeks ago," but gave no further details.

The Age reports growing concerns within the SAS that the soldiers do not have adequate legal protection or contingency plans if they are captured.
"They have all the espionage skills but without [ASIS's] legal cover," said one government source.
 
In a comment relayed to government officials, one soldier said: "What happens if we get caught?"

Australian National University professor Hugh White, a former deputy secretary of Defence, said: "Such an operation deprives the soldier of a whole lot of protections, including their legal status and, in a sense, their identity as a soldier.

"I think governments should think extremely carefully before they ask soldiers to do that."

Professor Ben Saul of the University of Sydney said: "If Australian forces are present in other countries, in circumstances where Australia is not fighting lawfully in an armed conflict but they are just picked up as spies on the ground, that then exposes them to the full force and penalty of the local domestic law.

"In many countries espionage is an incredibly serious political offence which can carry the death penalty."

SAS 4 Squadron is based at Swan Island, near Queenscliff, a high-security defence facility that has doubled in size over the past decade, in part to accommodate the new squadron.

The squadron was formally raised in 2005 by the John Howard government, but its new intelligence-focused role was authorised in late 2010 or early last year by Defence Minister Stephen Smith.