Reports of increased Russian military presence in Libya

Russia has set up two military bases in eastern Libya and hundreds of mercenaries linked to the GRU, the Russian military intelligence, are backing the forces of Khalifa Haftar in eastern Libya, The Telegraph has reported.

Whitehall sources quoted by the British daily newspaper said that the Russian presence in Libya has two main aims:  to secure the deep-water ports of Tobruk and Derna for the Russian Fleet and also to control the flow of oil to southern Europe if they take over Libya’s energy industry.

The Telegraph reports that “private military company Wagner Group has been supporting Khalifa Haftar with 300 personnel in Benghazi and has supplied his army with artillery, tanks, drones and ammunition.”

The Wagner Group is linked to Yevgeny Prigozhin, a businessman with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and who was sanctioned by the United States after his online troll factory interfered in the 2016 election.

A similar warning was given in the beginning of last month by Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, the commander of US Africa Command (AFRICOM)  told the Senate Armed Services Committee in prepared written testimony.

In it he warned that “These agreements are aimed at accessing Libya’s vast oil market, reviving arms sales, and gaining access to coastal territories on the Mediterranean Sea, providing Russia closer access to Europe’s southern border,” Waldhauser said.

Via The Telegraph and United States Africa Command (AFRICOM)