The Swedish crime writer, who died shortly before his bestselling thriller books were published, travelled to Africa where he taught Eritrean women how to fire grenade launchers.
Larsson’s close friend, John Henri Holmberg, has divulged the information in a chapter of Afterword, a new book being sold as part of a boxed collection of Larsson’s work.
In it, Mr Holmberg describes how Larsson trained a group of women who were part of a Marxist liberation group fighting for Eritrea’s independence from Ethiopia.
He writes: “1977 was a dramatic year. Stieg spent part of it in Eritrea, where he had contacts in the Marxist EPLF liberation movement and helped to train a company of women guerrillas in the use of grenade launchers.
“But he also contracted a kidney inflammation and was forced to leave the country.”
Larsson’s books have sold more than 40 million copies worldwide. Daniel Craig, the star of the latest Bond films, is filming a Hollywood adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, while the Swedish film of The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest will open here next month.
After his time in Africa, Larsson joined his long-term partner, Eva Gabrielsson, in Stockholm, where he worked for the post office.
He was later given a job at TT, Sweden’s largest news agency, first as a graphic designer and then as a writer.
As an anti-fascist journalist, he received death threats from far-right groups and did not marry Miss Gabrielsson for fear of compromising her safety.
Larsson’s family and Miss Gabrielsson have been fighting a long-running legal battle for control over the late writer’s estate.
His father recently announced that Larsson was completing a fourth book when he died from a heart attack in 2004 aged 50.
I thought it was all standing in rainy shopping precincts trying to sell the Socialist Worker. If I'd known there were assignments like this on offer I'd have become a Marxist years ago.
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From training women guerrilla fighters to the Swedish Post Office, eh? That's a radical career move...
NB: What were his qualifications and why the emphasis on grenade launchers? No training in assault rifles? Or were they RPGs rather than the under-barrel stuff?
Zichao, I think you'd make a fantastic female Che Guevarra...
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NB: What were his qualifications and why the emphasis on grenade launchers? No training in assault rifles? Or were they RPGs rather than the under-barrel stuff?
Stieg Larsson trained female Eritrean guerrillas
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