Around 500 armed Sudanese men have arrived in Libya’s Benghazi as a prelude to being deployed alongside Khalifa Haftar’s forces around Tripoli, according to London-based newspaper al-Araby al-Jadeed.

Interior Minister, Fathi Bashagha says that the Russian mercenaries supporting Haftar are leading the battle on the front lines as infantry for control of the capital.

Foreign Minister Mohamed Sayala has said that the visit of his Greek counterpart to Benghazi is a clear violation of the United Nations and Security Council resolutions that recognize the Government of National Accord (GNA) as the only legitimate government that should be dealt with.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday vowed Turkey would increase military support to Libya if necessary, and evaluate all options.

The United States is “very concerned” about the intensification of the conflict in Libya, with a rising number of reported Russian mercenaries supporting Khalifa Haftar’s forces on the ground turning the conflict into a bloodier one, a senior State Department official told Reuters on Saturday.

The Libyan National Army (LNA) forces seized a ship with a Turkish crew off the Libyan coast, the LNA’s press service said on Sunday.

Turkey’s parliament on Saturday approved a security and military cooperation deal signed with Libya’s internationally-recognised government last month, state media reported, an agreement that could pave the way for military help from Ankara.

Recently inked agreements between Turkey and Libya have some of their neighbors fuming, especially as Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) on Dec. 19 accepted Turkey’s offer of military assistance in the battle against its rival.

The United Nations said Friday it is concerned about the deteriorating human rights situation in Libya with at least 284 civilian deaths this year, Anadolu Agency reports.

A division of Canadian engineering firm SNC-Lavalin has pleaded guilty to a single fraud charge related to its Libya dealings between 2001 and 2011.