A senior diplomat for the island revealed a report of the Libyan Penalties Experts Committee documenting the participation of Russian mercenaries with the support of retired Major General Khalifa Hifter, which sparked international concern, while killing and injured by bombing the capital Tripoli.
The diplomatic source in the UN Security Council confirmed to the island that the council received a confidential report from the team of international sanctions experts imposed on Libya documenting the participation of Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group in large-scale efforts in the country to support Khalifa Haftar.
This group provides direct technical support, engaging in combat operations, and sophisticated media campaigns to influence public opinion.
According to the source, the details provided in an article by Bloomberg on the subject are correct, including the presence of between 800 and 1,200 mercenaries from the Wagner Group in Libya to support Haftar since 2018, including at least 39 Russian snipers on the front lines.
| Hifter restricted the movement of Russian Wagner fighters, according to the report (Al-Jazeera) |
Training camp
A Bloomberg article says the secret report includes copies of a Russian-language map showing the existence of a training camp for Wagner Mercenaries in southeastern Libya created in late 2019.
The report also includes pictures of people said to be Russian mercenaries in Libya, and pictures of specific types of weapons, such as a 40-mm "VOG-25" grenade, which Wagner elements used in eastern Ukraine and Syria.
The report also reveals tensions in the relationship between the Russian side and Haftar, as Moscow meets most of its requests, while its responses have often been "less than amicable".
The report added that Haftar restricted the movement of the Wagner fighters and the information available to the company, while keeping it out of the decision-making process.
The report indicated that an entity associated with Wagner is participating in a very complex and highly complex social media campaign to support Haftar and his ground operations, and that this type of operation is prohibited under the arms embargo imposed on Libya.
A house in the Zenata region, south of Tripoli, was recently bombarded by Haftar (Anatolia) forces |
According to the report, sanctions experts are still investigating the presence of Syrian fighters in Libya, and it indicates reports that Syrians in Douma are being recruited with a monthly salary of $ 800.
In the first reaction to this report, a spokesman for the United Nations Secretary-General expressed his concern about the interference of foreign mercenaries in Libya.
Shelling and
deaths come as the latest developments indicate that three citizens were killed and 19 wounded as a result of the indiscriminate shelling of the Tajura area. Among the wounded are children and women, some of whom need emergency surgery to save them.
In the Hadaba area, a father, mother and their son were killed by a Grad missile fired by Haftar forces at the family home.
Al-Jazeera correspondent Nasser Shedeed said that the defensive fighting axes in southern Tripoli are calm, noting that the rocket forces ’attacks aim, according to many, to confuse the lives of civilians and cause them to change their headquarters to safer areas.
He stated that the United Nations stated that the number of civilian deaths due to the bombardment of Haftar forces reached 150 since the beginning of the year 2020, indicating that Haftar's forces aim to displace civilians from their homes, thereby putting pressure on the Al-Wefaq government.
It is noteworthy that, since April 4, 2019, Haftar forces, backed by regional and European countries, have launched a faltering attack to control the capital, Tripoli.
Despite his agreement to a humanitarian truce to confront the Corona pandemic, Haftar continued his attack, forcing the forces of the Al-Wefaq government to launch a military operation in the name of the "Peace Storm", which subsequently took control of several cities in the West Coast.