They played a crucial role in the conquest of the various colonial possessions, and subsequently served as garrison and internal security forces.

During both World Wars, askari units also served outside their colonies of origin, in various parts of Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

In South Africa the term refers to former members of the liberation movements who defected to the Apartheid government security forces.

The Imperial British East Africa Company raised units of askaris from among the Swahili people, the Sudanese and Somalis.

Originally drawn from Sudanese mercenaries, the German askaris were subsequently recruited from the Wahehe and Angoni tribal groups.

Prior to 1914 the basic Schutztruppe unit in Southeast Africa was the Feldkompanie comprising seven or eight German officers and NCOs with between 150 and 200 askaris (usually 160)—including two machine gun teams.

The West German embassy at Dar es Salaam identified approximately 350 ex-askaris and set up a temporary cashiers office at Mwanza on Lake Victoria.

The banker who had brought the money came up with an idea: each claimant was handed a broom and ordered in German to perform the manual of arms.

Many of the Askaris in Eritrea were drawn from local Nilotic populations, including Hamid Idris Awate, who reputedly had some Nara ancestry.

[6] The first Eritrean battalions, the I, II, III and IV, were raised in 1888 from Muslim and Christian volunteers, replacing an earlier Bashi-bazouk corps of irregulars.

The Eritrean ascaris fought with distinction at Serobeti, Agordat, Kassala, Coatit and Adwa[7] and subsequently served in Libya and Ethiopia.

Eritrean regiments in Italian service wore high red fezzes with coloured tufts and waist sashes that varied according to each unit.

[12] During Apartheid, especially during the 1980s, Askari was the term used to describe former members of the liberation movements who came to work for the Security Branch, providing information, identifying and tracing former comrades.

In some cases, attempts were made to 'turn' captured uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) or Azanian People's Liberation Army (APLA) operatives using both orthodox and unorthodox methods during interrogation, often involving torture.

At the Pretoria hearing in July 1999, Mr Chris Mosiane testified: "In the initial stages askaris were used as police dogs to sniff out insurgents with white SB [Security Branch members] as their handlers.

At his amnesty hearing, Colonel Eugene de Kock testified that he had set up a spy network amongst the askaris and used electronic surveillance.

He told the Amnesty Committee that he had also established a disciplinary structure to deal with internal issues and other infractions by askaris and white officers.

Because of their internal experience of MK structures, they were invaluable in identifying potential suspects, in infiltrating networks, in interrogations and in giving evidence for the state in trials.

The guards work for recruiting agencies such as Askar Security Services, which are hired by Beowulf International, a receiving company in Iraq, which subcontracts their services to EOD Technologies, an American company hired by the U.S. Department of Defense to provide security guards for Camp Victory in Baghdad.