Israeli company training Equatorial Guinea's special forces

Trainers wearing the logo of Sparta Security Solutions and Israeli flag patches train special forces personnel in Equatorial Guinea. (Press Office of the Vice-President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea)

Israeli company Sparta Security Solutions is training special forces personnel in Equatorial Guinea. This was revealed when Vice-President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue – President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo's son and heir apparent – visited their training facility.

The vice-president's office released photographs and a video of the visit that clearly showed instructors at a training facility wearing apparel with the Sparta name and logo, as well as Israeli flag patches.

The video's narrator said the vice-president visited the Okoheté Military Training Centre a few kilometres from Mongomo on 27 April, where he witnessed various demonstrations of the Special Corps' prowess.

The video showed as many as 200 personnel and more than 12 instructors, some of them Africans, at what appeared to be a relatively new facility with a large parade ground and a small arms range.

The soldiers were armed with Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) Tavor assault rifles with Meprolight M21 reflex sights, Negev light machine guns, and Galil Sniper rifles. Some also had night-vision goggles and breaching equipment.

The Equatoguinean personnel who were seen close-up did not appear to have any military insignia on their uniforms, although they wore the Sparta logo – a stylised version of an ancient Greek helmet – on their left arms.

Sparta's website says it specialises in VIP protection techniques developed by the Israel Security Agency and that all the courses it delivers to foreign customers are approved by the Israeli Ministry of Defense's export authority.

The president and vice-president