Regular Russian troops are now stationed in Libya, the head of the Democracy and Human Rights Foundation (DHRF), Emadeddin Muntasser, said on Friday as the UN and the international community called on mercenaries and foreign forces to withdraw from the war-torn country. .
DHRF was told by sources from the Libyan Ministry of Defense who spoke on an anonymous level that ordinary Russian troops had been discovered near Jufra Airbase and provided evidence with confidential aerial photos and coordinates of the location of these troops.
According to a statement from DHRF, copies of these were sent to members in the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom and Libya.
“While Russia has been stationing members of the Wagner Group in the country since at least 2017, the deployment of regular members of the Russian Armed Forces is a clear escalation with serious repercussions for national security in Libya, the United States and the European Union. In Muntasser.
“In addition, the presence of these troops makes it clear that Russia does not intend to leave Libya at any time and eliminates the possibility of holding free and fair elections on December 24, as provided by Libya’s political dialogue forum,” he added.
Muntasser stressed that there will be no future for freedom, democracy or human rights “in regions where Putin maintains military bases, changes his veto power and engages in media and election sabotage.”
Russia has been one of the biggest supporters of putschist Gen Khalifa Haftar along with France, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), who also supported Haftar’s offensive against the capital Tripoli in 2019.
Wagner Group was formed in 2014 in Ukraine and is owned by businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin and is intensely involved in several conflicts.
The group made its presence most pronounced in Syria and Libya, where Russia actively participated in the civil war and reportedly used the Wagner group as its proxy in the region. Although Russia does not officially recognize any cooperation with the Wagner group, reports from the field show otherwise.
In Libya, Russia has supported Haftar in its struggle to seize power from the UN-recognized National Accord Government (GNA), which preceded the newly elected caretaker government under Abdul Hamid Dbeibah.
The US African Command (AFRICOM) on July 24, 2020, accused Russia of “playing an unhelpful role in Libya by supplying supplies and equipment to the Wagner group.”
The Wagner group has 2,000 people in Libya, according to the command. The group currently has bases in the cities of Sirte and Jufra.
The deadline for the alienation of foreign mercenaries from Libya during the ceasefire in October passed in January, but talks to speed up the process continue as no movement has been announced or observed on the ground.
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