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Our Books:
- How South Africa Built Six Atom Bombs
- Dive South Africa
- Wreck Hunt
- Mercenary Invasion of Seychelles
- Jack Malloch
- Deadline Africa
- Battles of the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879
- Diving with Sharks
- Neall Ellis
- Barrel of a Gun
- South Africa's Border Wars
- The 'Coloured' People of South Africa and Apartheid
About our Authors:
Al J Venter
John H. Visser
Charles Shapiro
SITEMAP
MERCENARY INVASION OF THE SEYCHELLES: The Aborted Indian Ocean Island Raid Led by Former Congo Mercenary Mike Hoare
BY AUBREY BROOKES AND GRAHAM LINSCOTT
Due for Publication Late 2008
Aubrey Brookes was part of the ill-fated mercenary force that went into the Seychelles in the 1980s under Colonel Mike Hoare and ran into immediate difficulties through the most amazing ill-luck. He was wounded, captured, subjected to the most horrific beatings and torture and sentenced to death.
The book describes one man’s journey into and out of that pit of despair; how he survived and how, in the end, the experience strengthened and uplifted him and changed his life.
While still living in Rhodesia, Aubrey Brooks was a member of the Grey Scouts and thereafter, the Selous Scouts, one of the best counter-insurgency units in recent times. Small wonder then that the legendary Colonel Mike Hoare (Congo Mercenary) chose him as one of three section leaders when he put together his team of mercenaries that would invade the Seychelles Archipelago in 19
At the time, Seychelles was headed by a socialist government with close ties to Tanzania and North Korea.
The ‘invasion’ such as it was was not a success. Soon after touching down at Mahe International Airport, one of the ‘Froth Blowers’ - as the group of mercenaries called themselves - was found to have a rifle secreted in his golf bag while going through customs.
An extended fire-fight followed. It involved Tanzanian and North Korean military units as well as some Seychellois armour and there were a number of casualties. Shortly afterwards Colonel Hoare and others managed to board an Air India passenger jet, where, at gunpoint, they ordered the crew to fly to South Africa. They were arrested on arrival.
Some of the original mercenary group had to be left behind, including Brookes. Though he managed to evade island security forces for some days he was eventually captured, tortured (all his fingernails were torn out with pliers) and put on trial. Brookes spent several years in prison.
Working with journalist Graham Linscott and drawing a series of diaries, notes, files and photographs – all of which deal with the raid –Brooks has put together the story of a remarkable military operation in which many lives might have been lost.
Due for Publication Late 2008