Russia’s Wagner group is preparing to send 300 Syrian fighters from Bashar Assad’s regime-controlled Deir el-Zour to fight alongside Libyan putsch general Khalifa Haftar, security sources said on Monday.
Sources told the Daily Sabah that the new Syrian mercenary group consists of fighters loyal to the regime, Iran-backed foreign groups and volunteers from Assad’s army.
The group is currently training in Syria and will be sent to eastern Libya’s Benghazi towards the end of April.
Sources said that the sending of new Syrian mercenaries to Libya amid efforts for lasting peace and stability in the war-torn country indicates that Haftar could not get his stomach thrown into the background and still wants to participate in the leadership in Libya.
Russia has been one of the biggest supporters of the warlord along with France, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) who also supported Haftar’s offensive against the capital Tripoli in 2019.
The Wagner Group was formed in 2014 in Ukraine and is owned by businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin and is intensely involved in several conflicts.
Syrian militia is seen in front of a Wagnerian soldier in Syria, in this undated photo from security sources.
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 fight 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 alien 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.
A Russian Wagnerian soldier is seen at the UNESCO-designated site of Palmyra, northeast of Damascus, in this undated photo from security sources.
Dbeibah in Turkey for talks
Meanwhile, Libyan Prime Minister Dbeibah and a delegation of ministers visited Turkey on Monday to discuss recent developments and the situation in the North African country.
Libya’s new unity government was sworn in on March 15 by two warring authorities that had ruled eastern and western regions and completed a smooth transition of power after a decade of violent chaos.
Dbeibah will pay a two-day visit at the invitation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the two will chair the first meeting of the Turkey-Libya High Level Strategic Cooperation Council in Ankara.
At the meeting, which will be held with the participation of relevant ministers, all aspects of relations between Turkey and Libya will be discussed and measures that can be taken to further improve cooperation will be evaluated.
Turkey has said that Turkish companies will play an active role in rebuilding the war-torn country.
In 2019, Ankara signed a maritime demarcation agreement with GNA over the eastern Mediterranean and a military cooperation agreement under which Turkey sent military advisers and trainers to Tripoli.
Greece, which opposes the maritime agreement between Tripoli and Ankara, demanded that the agreement be repealed last week, as it resumed its embassy in Libya after seven years.
Dbeibah, selected through a UN-led process, has said that economic deals between GNA and Turkey should remain.
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