'THEY BEHAVED LIKE HUNTING DOGS': HOW MOD PROGRAMME TO HELP LIBYA DESCENDED INTO RAPE AND DRUNKEN RAPAGES

The Ministry of Defence had agreed to train Libyan cadets in support of the country's new government after the fall of Colonel Gaddafi.

But within months of the troops arriving at Bassingbourn Barracks in June, they were sent back to Libya in disgrace amid allegations of rape and sexual assault, as well as reports of drunken vandalism and fighting.

On Friday, five of the soldiers were jailed for their actions during a night of drunken rampaging through a city centre in which a man was raped and four women sexually assaulted.

CCTV of Ibrahim Abugtila , circled in red, approaching members of the public in Cambridge prior to the rape. Moktair Mahmoud is circled in green

Moktar Ali Saad Mahmoud, 33, and Ibrahim Abugtila, 23, were jailed for 12 years for the rape of a drunken man who they pounced on like a pair of 'hunting dogs.'

The court heard how they took turns to brutally assault their drunken victim in a Cambridge park after leaving their barracks without permission.

Moahmoud and Abugtila, who were among 300 Libyan trainees stationed at Bassingbourn, had denied rape and aiding and abetting rape but were found guilty at Cambridge Crown Court on Friday after a trial.

Three other Libyan soldiers from the same base, Ibrahim El Maarfi, 21, Mohammed Abdalsalam, 27, and Khaled El Azibi, 19, were also jailed for sexually attacking four women in the same night in Cambridge last October.

They had stolen bikes and cycled the ten miles from Bassingbourn, before roaming the streets looking for victims and pounced on four women in the space of an hour.

El Maarfi also admitted indecent exposure and Abdalsalam admitted threatening behaviour towards a police officer.

El Azibi was jailed for 12 months and the other two were both locked up for 10 months and all three will be deported after their sentences from Norwich Crown Court.

The pair (circled) attacked like a pair of 'hunting dogs' when they targeted their drunken male victim

The male rape victim was a man in his 20s who had been at a wedding and he described his attackers as 'horrendous' and 'not human'.

Prosecutor John Farmer said the two were seen on CCTV leading him to Christ's Pieces park.

He said: 'They behaved like two hunting dogs who had seen a wounded animal.

'They effectively took him over and, initially not using too much force and later more forcefully, kept him going in the direction they wanted him to go.'

In the park, the defendants took it in turns to rape the man while the other held him down.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told officers: 'I cannot believe what I'm saying, they raped me. It was horrible, I feel horrible. Don't say anything to my mum.'

Describing them as 'animals', he added: 'I was trying my hardest. I was trying my hardest and they were like overpowering me.'

The man told officers: 'They were horrendous, they weren't human. They weren't human people. They were horrendous people, they were sick people.

'They don't deserve to live, they shouldn't be alive.'

Mahmoud and Abugtila will also be deported after serving their sentences.

After the rape allegations came to light in November, 300 of the Libyan troops - a mix of established armed forces, new recruits and former revolutionaries - were sent home early, amid further reports of disturbances around the base and a 'collapse of discipline' on it.

A risk assessment later released by the MoD under the Freedom of Information Act revealed that the military had concerns about the potential conduct of the cadets from the start.

It raised particular concerns about cultural attitudes to sexual violence and reports of war-related rapes and attacks.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon told Parliament there were 'things we could have done better' and he admitted regrets over the way it was handled.

Now, pressure is growing Mr Fallon to apologise after the cadets were able to leave the base without permission because the perimeter 'leaked like a sieve'.

Peter Robinson, chairman of Bassingbourn Parish Council, said: 'Our concerns were dismissed from the start - they were determined this was going ahead and we were treated like hysterical locals.

'Now, sadly, our concerns have been completely vindicated - it's just a shame it had to happen in such a terrible way.'

Residents first became concerned when they were told their usual access to facilities on the base was to be restricted for 'security reasons'.

'We weren't sure if this was to protect the Libyans from us or to protect us from them,' Mr Robinson said.

'We started thinking 'Are these men really so dangerous that we can't be allowed anywhere near them?'.

'It soon became clear these weren't really soldiers at all.'

Soldiers were able to jump the fence (pictured) and leave the barracks without permission

There were unconfirmed reports of the cadets storming the guardroom after one of their number was disciplined and regular Thursday night outbreaks of disorder.

Residents described finding soldiers hiding under cars, wandering the streets drunk and engaging in anti-social behaviour.

An MoD investigation later found the first signs of trouble in August when a shop worker reported being molested and recruits were spotted out unsupervised on three occasions.

Cambridgeshire Police were forced to deny 'incidents of disorder' but said officers had increased their presence in the area as 'reassurance' after riot vans were seen lining up in the high street.

The MoD has since said it will not carry out similar exercises at Bassingbourn - but such schemes could take place elsewhere in the UK.

A spokeswoman said: 'We have been clear that we will not be repeating this training at Bassingbourn.

'Training of foreign recruits in the UK on this scale is unusual. We would normally seek to undertake any such activity, where invited, in the host country.