Kremlin denies presence of Russian mercenaries in Libya
By Victoria
Hudson.
On Monday,
Kremlin categorically denied the presence of Russian mercenaries in Libya.
“There is no military personnel, no mercenaries’ Russian nationals actually
working in Libya”. President Vladimir Putin said, officially denying reports
reporting the presence of Wagner company’s mercenaries fighting in Libya beside
the Libyan armed forces led by Feld Marshall Khalifa Haftar.
The
statement of Kremlin arrives as the EU countries are discussing the institution
of a joint force to prevent weapons traffic to the north African countries after
150 violations of the arms embargo recorded by the UN Support Mission to Libya
(UNSMIL), most from Turkey.
The Syrian
Human Rights Observatory reported in the first months of 2020 Turkish president
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sent more than 4000 Syrian rebels from Idlib to
Tripoli to support armed militias aligned with Tripoli-based Government of
National Accord (GNA) included members linked to terroristic organizations.
On January
19 heads of States and Governments involved in the Libyan file met in Berlin
and agree on the importance to respect arms embargo on Libya. Despite it,
Turkey and its allies still sending weapons and resources to Tripoli Islamic
militias threatening the security of Libyan people but also of the entire area.
Reliable military sources revealed last week of modern defense system Qatari
made installed on the perimeter of Mitiga International Airport, the only
operative in the Libyan capital.
Israelian intelligence provided also aerospace images of armored vehicles, as Bayraktar TB1, stored in Mitiga airport and other residential and civilian areas south of Tripoli. This represents a serious violation of international laws on conflict and human rights. The convention of Geneva, in particular, stipulates that during a conflict, the parties will distinguish between military and civilian objectives and take all preventive measures to protect civilians.
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