Libya 's reconciliation government calls on UN Security Council to punish countries that support Haftar

The Libyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Government of National Accord announced a formal protest to the UN Security Council on the bombing of retired Major General Khalifa Hifter forces supported by foreign countries to the airports Mitiga and Misrata international.

Earlier on Saturday, the Wefaq government accused a "United Arab Emirates air force" of bombing Misrata International Airport in support of Hifter's forces. The Times also revealed dozens of what it called "Russian mercenaries" fighting alongside Hifter's forces in the past few days.

The Libyan Foreign Ministry said that the Security Council is standing by in front of what it called the crimes committed by "militia Hifter", the latest bombing of Misrata airport, which led to the injury of one of the workers, and damaged a number of civil aircraft.

In its statement, the ministry called on the Security Council to shoulder its responsibilities towards the Libyan people and to deter, punish and punish the aggressor and hold the countries that support it accountable.

Since April 4, Hifter's forces have staged a faltering offensive to take control of the capital Tripoli, the seat of the internationally recognized government of reconciliation.

Operation Volcano of Wrath, carried out by Wefaq government forces, said the bombing of Misrata airport "came as a cowardly reaction to the targeting of our forces by militias backed by mercenaries from Russia, Sudan and Chad."

Misrata International Airport is the only one operating in western Libya, with Mitiga International Airport being closed for the second month following a missile attack on September 1, injuring civilians and injuring a passenger plane and runway.

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Mission in Libya, Ghassan Salameh, has on several occasions expressed the Mission's condemnation of repeated strikes on the airports of Mitiga and Misrata, stressing that their continued targeting amounts to a "war crime".

The Hifter attack on Tripoli aborted efforts by the United Nations to hold a conference of dialogue between the Libyans. The world body is currently seeking an international conference of the parties concerned in Libya to discuss ways to reach a political solution to the conflict.

Ross mercenaries
In a related development, the British newspaper The Times revealed that dozens of what it called "Russian mercenaries" in an air strike in Libya in the past few days.

The newspaper said in a report that hundreds of Russian mercenaries recruited by the group "Wagner" Russian security to fight with the forces of retired Libyan brigade Khalifa Hifter, although Moscow denies any military role in Libya.

The newspaper quoted the site of the Russian investigation "Medusa" that about 35 Russians were killed last month when the government forces of Wefaq targeted sites in the west of Libya.

A senior British government source said in March that Russian mercenaries were operating artillery and drones and providing Hifter's logistics capabilities.

The head of the Joint Operations Room in Libya, Osama Goueili, revealed at the end of September that countries supporting Khalifa Hifter began resorting to the services of companies, some of them from Russia, to recruit mercenaries to fight with the Libyan brigade.

More than 100 Russian mercenaries from the Wagner group, headed by Yevgeny Brezhuzin, a close associate of President Vladimir Putin, arrived in eastern Libya last month to support Hifter's forces in their attempts to seize the capital Tripoli, some of whom were killed in the fighting, according to Bloomberg.

The agency pointed out that the group "Wagner" is playing a prominent role in the implementation of Russia's foreign policy, where he participated in operations in Syria, in Central Africa, and other parts of Africa.