A military source from the Libyan National Accord government forces confirmed that a convoy consisting of about 40 cars, in which armed men from the Russian Wagner Company mercenaries, left Al-Jafra air base, which is located in central Libya.
The source suggested that the convoy went to the Brak al-Shati air base, which is located north of the city of Sabha (approximately 650 kilometers south of Tripoli), and there has been a group of Russian mercenaries who have been spreading in oil fields in southern Libya for months in support of the forces of retired Major General Khalifa Haftar.
The Libyan military source said that the convoy that left the base was accompanied by two Russian "Pantsir" air defense systems and 5 cannons.
He added that the armed vehicles crossed several areas on their way, and did not stop at some checkpoints that Haftar's forces set up in some areas of southern Libya.
In the past few weeks, the Libyan Al-Wefaq Forces have monitored the movements of Russian mercenaries from Al-Jafra base, either towards the city of Sirte to reinforce Haftar's forces, or to the south, where there are major oil fields.
A military helicopter with Russian mercenaries on board fell yesterday near the city of Sukna in the Al-Jafra region, killing a number of them, according to a spokesman for the Sirte Al-Jufra Operations Room of the Al-Wefaq Forces.
And recently, a report submitted by international experts to the UN Security Council confirmed that Russia conducted a large number of flights from Syria to Libya to supply Wagner's mercenaries with weapons and ammunition, and despite the multiplicity of clues, Moscow denies any relationship it has with Russian mercenaries in Libya, who fought with Haftar during his attack. For Tripoli, who ended in defeat early last summer.
It is noteworthy that the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) published earlier this year pictures of warplanes deployed by Russia at the Al-Jufra base, which is located south of the coastal city of Sirte.
Oil shipment
On the other hand, the National Oil Corporation in Libya announced the arrival of the tanker "Delta Hills" to the port of Harika in the city of Tobruk in the far east of the country, and said that the tanker with a capacity of one million barrels had begun to ship oil on board.
The technical crews at the port of Harika began to actually resume production operations after the removal of force majeure from the safe fields and ports that were not under the control of Haftar's Wagner mercenaries.
According to the Libyan Oil Corporation, the shipment of oil in the tanker Delta Hills will provide vacuums in the tanks to receive crude oil from the Al-Sarir and Masala fields, as well as operating the Al-Sarir and Tobruk refineries to obtain oil products that will feed the region with fuel.
About a week ago, Haftar announced the reopening of the oil fields and ports after imposing a blockade on them since last January, which caused losses estimated at about $ 10 billion.
While a Haftar spokesman explained that this step comes as a result of an agreement with a member of the Presidency Council, Ahmed Maiteq, to provide for a fair distribution of oil revenues, the Accord Government and the Supreme Council of State announced their rejection of the agreement.