Small Wars Journal

Russian Mercenaries Backing Militia Commander Trying to Capture Tripoli, Libya and U.S. Officials Say

Fri, 12/06/2019 - 5:45am

Russian Mercenaries Backing Militia Commander Trying to Capture Tripoli, Libya and U.S. Officials Say by Maggie Michael – Associated Press

Officials in Libya’s U.N.-supported government say they plan to confront Moscow over the alleged deployment of Russian mercenaries fighting alongside their opponents in the country’s civil war.

Libyan and U.S. officials accuse Russia of deploying fighters through a private security contractor, the Wagner Group, to key battleground areas in Libya in the past months.

They say the Russian fighters are backing commander Khalifa Hifter, whose forces have been trying for months to capture the capital Tripoli. The U.N.-supported Government of National Accord is based in Tripoli…

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