Nobody here but us Lemurs

It is the favorite bogeyman claim of any African government in a precarious position:

"The (insert opposition name here) have hired mercenaries to attempt a coup."

The thing is, such still happens in Africa and other such places where a small number of well-led and well-equipped professionals can make mincemeat out of the local forces... when fighting on their terms. But it is much, much harder to do than it used to be, and much more likely to be a temporary victory that is overturned by international disapproval and legal intervention.

The Rajoelina 'junta' in Madagascar hauled this claim out again yesterday with their search of Rio Tinto's QMM titanium sands project. However:

"The local police assisted by local army members informed QMM that they wanted to search the mine site for mercenaries and arms," spokesman Nick Cobban said in London.

"The search has been completed, nothing was found and they've all gone home."

No surprise there. Rio Tinto is *way too smart* to actually have a direct hand in such goings on.

If there are any such goings on.

If...

T.I.A.