Court documents indicate that a former US special forces contractor, Abraham Golan, received millions of dollars to carry out assassinations on behalf of the United Arab Emirates in Yemen. This revelation was reported by the New York Post, which identified Golan as a defendant in a case related to the attempted assassination of Yemeni MP Anisaf Ali Mayo, who narrowly escaped death.
Golan, along with Isaac Gilmore, a former member of the US Navy SEALs, founded the Spear Operations Group in August 2015. They secured a deal with the UAE to carry out "targeted assassinations" on its behalf, according to the lawsuit.
Details of the Assassination Program
Reports suggest that the Spear group was receiving approximately $1.5 million per month in addition to bonuses for each successful assassination. According to the documents, Golan stated, "There was a targeted assassination program in Yemen. I was running it. We did it. It was authorized by the UAE within the coalition."
The deal between Spear and the UAE took place in Abu Dhabi during a meeting attended by Mohammed Dahlan, the exiled Palestinian politician who became an advisor to UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. After the deal was finalized, Golan and Gilmore recruited former military personnel, including Dale Comstock, who was paid $40,000 per month plus bonuses to lead the assassination team.
Background & Context
Previous investigations have shown that the UAE had employed mercenaries to carry out assassinations against prominent figures in the Islah Party, the Yemeni branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. These investigations included leaked footage of a drone attempting to assassinate Mayo in December 2015.
In a documentary aired by BBC in 2024, Gilmore admitted that Mayo was among the names on the "kill list." Mayo has stated that he suffers from "psychological and emotional trauma" as a result of the assassination attempt and currently lives in exile in Saudi Arabia, while his wife and two children remain in Yemen.
Impact & Consequences
Documents reveal that Golan was managing the assassination operations from a luxurious $7 million mansion in San Diego. The attempt on Mayo's life initiated a series of targeted killings in Yemen between 2015 and 2018, during which the human rights organization Reprieve investigated 160 killings, finding that only 23 of the deceased were linked to terrorist organizations.
Mohammed Abdul Wadoud, a member of the Islah Party in Taiz, stated in 2018: "The UAE is willing to destroy the entire country and bring mercenaries from around the world to eliminate Islah." The UAE government has denied targeting individuals not linked to terrorism and asserted that its counter-terrorism activities were conducted at the invitation of the internationally recognized Yemeni government.
Regional Significance
Concerns are growing that these operations could escalate the conflict in Yemen, where the UAE and the Islah Party had previously collaborated against the Houthi movement. However, relations have significantly deteriorated, with Adan witnessing clashes between Islah militias and Emirati militias in October 2017.
In conclusion, this case highlights the importance of scrutinizing private military activities in the region and their impact on security and stability in Yemen, necessitating greater international attention.