The Libyan Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that it won’t allow mercenaries and criminal gangs to take advantage of oil fields and energy resources in Libya.

The Wall Street Journal quoted European officials as saying that Russian military personnel assisted Haftar militias in taking control of the Sharara Oil Field.

Kristian Coates Ulrichsen is a fellow for the Middle East at the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University in Texas. His research examines political, economic, and security trends in the Middle East and, in particular, the Gulf Cooperation Council states’ changing position within the global order.

The National Commission for Human Rights in Libya (NCHRL) has expressed dismay over the failure of the Minister of Justice of the Government of National Accord to exact justice and protect human rights in the country as well as to fix the criminal justice system and that of prisons.

A tribal leader in Libya’s oil-producing region on Monday indicated tribes there were ending a blockade on output and exports, saying “we opened the oil”, and have handed authority to Haftar’s forces to negotiate a restart in production with the “international community.”

Libyan militia leader Khalifa Haftar has sent thousands of foreign fighters to the frontlines of Sirte as government forces prepare to re-take the key city, according to media reports on Monday.

Nine bodies have been found in another mass grave in the Libyan town of Tarhouna after fighters loyal to eastern strongman Khalifa Haftar withdrew, pro-government forces said on Monday.

Sudan said Sunday it has arrested 122 of its nationals as they headed to neighbouring Libya to fight as “mercenaries“, state media reported.

The spokesman for the Libyan Army under the command of the Government of National Accord (GNA) Mohammed Gununu said Libya is at war with invading mercenaries supported by regional and international states after the defeat of their agent Khalifa Haftar.

Russian buildup is turning the eastern Mediterranean Sea into one of the world’s most militarized zones, the U.S. Navy’s top admiral in Europe has said, warning that Moscow could cement its dominance in the region if it’s allowed to gain a foothold in Libya.