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The great game in Libya has begun surging with the United States shedding its strategic ambivalence and resorting to a proactive role. Earlier this week, the Pentagon marked a dramatic escalation by accusing Moscow of bolstering Kremlin-linked mercenaries who are allegedly helping Khalifa Haftar, the eastern warlord in Libya.
In an extraordinary statement on May 26, the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) said that jets were flown last week from Russia to eastern Libya to a base controlled by Haftar in the wake of his offensive to capture power in Tripoli suffering a major reverse recently due Turkey’s military help to the UN-backed Libyan Government of National Accord.
The AFRICOM claimed that the Russian jets are “likely to provide close air support and offensive fires” for Russian mercenaries working for Haftar — the Wagner Group, a shadowy private army that western experts link to Yevgeniy Prigozhin, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Read more: Open Skies Treaty: NATO, US, China, Russia in war of words
“Russia is clearly trying to tip the scales in its favor in Libya,” said AFRICOM commander in the statement. “Just like I saw them doing in Syria, they are expanding their military footprint in Africa using government-supported mercenary groups like Wagner.” He added: “For too long, Russia has denied the full extent of its involvement in the ongoing Libyan conflict. Well, there is no denying it now.”
The AFRICOM has since published additional details and satellite images across its social network channels. It says, “Over multiple days in May, Russian MiG 29s and SU-24 fighters departed Russia. At that time, all the aircraft had Russian Federation Air Force markings. After they land at Khmeimin Air Base in Syria, the MiG 29s are repainted and emerge with no national markings. They are flown by Russian military members & escorted by Russian fighters based in Syria to Libya, landing in Eastern Libya near Tobruk for fuel. At least 14 newly unmarked Russian aircraft are then delivered to Al Jufra Air Base in Libya.”
Oil-rich Libya is in the grip of its worst bloodshed since the ouster of Moammar Gadhafi during the 2011 NATO intervention. The war that followed is being fuelled by regional and European powers, which have backed the warring sides for a variety of interests. But Washington has pointedly singled out Russia for its verbal fusillade.
Read full article...
NATO vs Russia: Who will win Libya?
The great game in Libya has begun surging with the United States shedding its strategic ambivalence and resorting to a proactive role. Earlier this week, the Pentagon marked a dramatic escalation by accusing Moscow of bolstering Kremlin-linked mercenaries who are allegedly helping Khalifa Haftar, the eastern warlord in Libya.
In an extraordinary statement on May 26, the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) said that jets were flown last week from Russia to eastern Libya to a base controlled by Haftar in the wake of his offensive to capture power in Tripoli suffering a major reverse recently due Turkey’s military help to the UN-backed Libyan Government of National Accord.
The AFRICOM claimed that the Russian jets are “likely to provide close air support and offensive fires” for Russian mercenaries working for Haftar — the Wagner Group, a shadowy private army that western experts link to Yevgeniy Prigozhin, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Read more: Open Skies Treaty: NATO, US, China, Russia in war of words
“Russia is clearly trying to tip the scales in its favor in Libya,” said AFRICOM commander in the statement. “Just like I saw them doing in Syria, they are expanding their military footprint in Africa using government-supported mercenary groups like Wagner.” He added: “For too long, Russia has denied the full extent of its involvement in the ongoing Libyan conflict. Well, there is no denying it now.”
The AFRICOM has since published additional details and satellite images across its social network channels. It says, “Over multiple days in May, Russian MiG 29s and SU-24 fighters departed Russia. At that time, all the aircraft had Russian Federation Air Force markings. After they land at Khmeimin Air Base in Syria, the MiG 29s are repainted and emerge with no national markings. They are flown by Russian military members & escorted by Russian fighters based in Syria to Libya, landing in Eastern Libya near Tobruk for fuel. At least 14 newly unmarked Russian aircraft are then delivered to Al Jufra Air Base in Libya.”
Oil-rich Libya is in the grip of its worst bloodshed since the ouster of Moammar Gadhafi during the 2011 NATO intervention. The war that followed is being fuelled by regional and European powers, which have backed the warring sides for a variety of interests. But Washington has pointedly singled out Russia for its verbal fusillade.
Read full article...
NATO vs Russia: Who will win Libya?
