Libya Urges Russia To Investigate Reports Of Russian Mercenaries Fighting In LNA's Ranks

Libya looks forward to seeing Russia's positive impact on resolving the Libyan issue and urges Moscow to start an investigation in regard to media reports, which allege that Russian mercenaries are fighting in the ranks of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA), the prime minister of the Libyan UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA), Fayez Sarraj, told Sputnik

CAIRO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th November, 2019) Libya looks forward to seeing Russia's positive impact on resolving the Libyan issue and urges Moscow to start an investigation in regard to media reports, which allege that Russian mercenaries are fighting in the ranks of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA), the prime minister of the Libyan UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA), Fayez Sarraj, told Sputnik.

Several news outlets and broadcasters have reported on the arrival of Russian mercenaries in Libya over the last several months. For example, on September 25, the Bloomberg news agency said that more than 100 mercenaries arrived at a forward base in Libya in the first week of September to support an LNA assault on the capital of Tripoli. On November 5, the New York Times published a report that stated that around 200 Russian fighters arrived in Libya during the last six weeks as part of a broad Kremlin campaign to extend its influence across the middle East and Africa region.

"We hope that Russia will play a positive role in resolving the Libyan crisis and also call on the Russian government to investigate reports published by international media, confirming the presence of Russian mercenaries who are fighting in Haftar's army ranks and contributing to the weapons supply," Sarraj said.

He also added that Libya was interested in strengthening ties and fulfilling the agreements that were previously concluded between the two countries.

On November 7, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and Presidential Representative for the Middle East and Africa Mikhail Bogdanov discussed with head of the French Foreign Ministry's Middle East and North Africa Department Christophe Farnaud the situation in the Middle Eastern and North African countries, including Libya. The sides underlined the importance of promoting a comprehensive approach to the settlement of the regional problems in accordance with the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Libya has suffered from unrest since 2011, when its long-time leader, Muammar Gaddafi, was overthrown and killed. The country is still split between two rival governments, with an elected parliament supported by Haftar's Libyan National Army governing the country's east, and the UN-backed Government of National Accord ruling in the west.