Libya’s UN-recognised government has accused Russia of fuelling the country’s civil war by sending mercenaries to back eastern commander Khalifa Haftar.

The security chief for Libya’s UN-backed government accused Russia of fueling a months-long war to extend its influence over the strategic oil producer, and called on the US to step up efforts to resolve the conflict.

A United Nations report has concluded that Sudan and Jordan are providing the forces of Khalifa Haftar with illegal military support as he wages a brutal offensive on Libya’s Tripoli.

A senior Foreign Ministry official has denied Russia’s military presence in Libya following a New York Times report that about 200 Russian mercenaries have arrived in the oil-rich North African country in the past month and a half.

Jordan, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates have regularly violated the UN arms embargo imposed on Libya since 2011, according to a confidential report by UN experts seen Thursday by AFP.

A UN report has found that a foreign air force was behind an air strike on a Libyan migrant detention centre which killed over 50 people, with strong suspicion pointing towards the UAE.

The Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar continued targeting forces of Government of National Accord (GNA), headed by Fayez al-Sarraj, south and east of Tripoli, and at the coastal city of Sirte.

The Chairman of Presidential Council (PC), Fayez Al-Sarraj, has reaffirmed the government’s insistence on the withdrawal of Haftar’s militias to where they came from, before talking about any ceasefire.

The International Criminal Court has “reliable information” about the location of one of former dictator Muammar Gaddafi‘s sons as well as two other Libyan war crimes fugitives, prosecutor Fatou Bensouda told the UN Security Council Wednesday.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has refuted US media reports about Russian contractors allegedly operating in crisis-torn Libya, calling them “speculation”.