Euronews: Who are the Russian mercenaries fighting in Libya?

"Euronews" news network highlighted the participation of Russian elements in the fighting in Libya, and tried to answer some of the questions that appear about the role of those elements, and the party to which they belong.

The writers Lilo Montalto Monela and Luke Hurst said in a report published by the network that Libyan and American officials point out that these contracting fighters belong to a paramilitary organization called "Wagner Group", linked to a person close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The authors mention that reports published by the Associated Press stated that members of the Wagner Group are accused of fighting alongside the forces of retired Major General Khalifa Hifter, who is imposing a blockade on the internationally recognized government in Tripoli, with the support of the UAE and Egypt.

The report adds that Moscow, on the other hand, has repeatedly denied any direct involvement in the conflict, but these mercenaries operate under the control of the Russian security and military services, according to Pavel Felgenhauer, a journalist and analyst for the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta in an interview with "euronews."

Wagner Group
The report says that the Wagens Group is a Russian special military group, and that it emerged from the conflict in Donbas (eastern Ukraine), when pro-Russian forces revolted against the Ukrainian government.

The report indicates that people with ties to the Wagner Group had previously told Reuters that the group had carried out secret combat missions mandated by the Kremlin in Ukraine and Syria, and the Russian authorities deny this.

The site indicates that businessman Evgeny Prigogen who heads the Wagner Group - and has close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin - has denied on several occasions any link with this group, and that the United States imposed sanctions on him on the background of accusing him of trying to interfere in the 2016 presidential elections And the 2018 congressional elections.

Offensive units
The report notes - quoting journalist Pavel Felgenhauer - that "the contracted Russian fighters of Wagner are not like their American counterparts, as they take part in battles, and are used within elite attack units", unlike American contractors whose main task is to guard.

The same source adds that in Russia there is a large group of these people who are ready to fight, who are considered veterans in Donbas, and that there are not many fights at the moment there, as well as they do not receive good salaries, and for this reason, they are looking for other ways to earn money Because it is hard for them to get it another way.

While the money earned by these people is not huge under some international standards, they can earn a few thousand dollars a month from working as fighters, and the leaders and their families receive an amount of no less than fifty thousand euros if they die, according to the site.

The Kremlin and the security services
Wilgenhor asserts that these fighters operate under the control of the Russian security and military services, and that they do not participate in wars without obtaining instructions from the Kremlin, even if the Kremlin continues to deny this.

"The use of fighters from the Wagner Group contributes to achieving the goals of the Russian government, as these elements are ready to fight for the last breath, given the volume of money that their Russian families will receive, in addition to sending these fighters to the hotbeds of tension contributes to removing dangerous elements from Russia's borders, where these fighters receive high-level training, and thus can pose a political threat to the country's future security itself.

According to Lorenzo Cremonese, a correspondent for the Corriere della Sera newspaper, the Russians are turning away from playing a frontline role, and instead they are participating as either snipers, drones or trainers for Haftar's soldiers.

Group and Africa
According to the American magazine "Foreign Policy", the Wagner Group has recently been trying to find work in Africa related to the field of training local militias and contracts for private security.

It should be noted that three Russian journalists were investigating the presence of Wagner elements in the Central African Republic in the summer of 2018, as well as other threats.

The "euronews" report confirmed that the head of the Supreme Council of State in Libya, Khaled al-Mashri, confirmed that the national reconciliation government was to submit a list of the names of mercenaries fighting in the country to the Russian government.

In a related development, US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker announced that the United States is working in cooperation with European partners to impose sanctions on the Russian Wagner Company, indicating its involvement in "mass killings of civilians."