Up to 20,000 mercenaries from the Russian private military company the Wagner Group as well as from Syria and Libya are fighting alongside Moscow’s forces in Ukraine, a European official said Tuesday.
Libya’s National Oil Corporation has announced the closure of operations in major oil fields after staff in the key export terminal of Zueitina were blocked from working.
The Libyan Interior Minister, Khalid Mazen, called on all security apparatuses to double their efforts to exact security and dismantle criminal gangs for the safety of the people.
A senior figure in Khalifa Haftar’s militias was shot dead in Benghazi on Sunday, local sources have confirmed.
The Libyan army has hunted down members of the pro-Haftar Kaniyat militia accused of committing human rights abuses in the western town of Tarhuna.
The Public Prosecution has issued arrest warrants for several leaders of the “Al-Kaniyat” militia and its members that have enrolled in the group since 2017, the Public Prosecutor Siddiq Al-Sour has said.
UN investigators are seeking to verify reports of mass graves thought to contain the corpses of migrants at a trafficking hub in Libya, they said in a report on Monday that also documented incidents of rape, murder and torture.
A Syrian security company acting as a proxy for the Russian Wagner Group has transferred Syrian fighters from Benghazi to Syria, “Syrians for Truth and Justice” organization (STJ) has reported, indicating that the batch of mercenaries will join the Russian troops fighting in Ukraine and the separatist regions.
The city of Sirte, controlled by Khalifa Hafatr’s militias and mercenaries, has witnessed a surge in kidnappings and arrests, with five people reportedly going missing in just 24 hours.
Libya’s National Oil Corporation said Tuesday that an armed group blockading two major oil fields had lifted its siege and that production had resumed at one of them.
