Putin-Linked Mercenaries Are Fighting on Libya’s Front Lines
[Bloomberg] Samer Khalil Al-Atrush and Stepan Kravchenko
Bloomberg September 25, 2019
(Bloomberg) -- A private army linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin has begun fighting on the front lines of the Libyan war, according to people familiar with the matter, the latest projection of Russian power following a decisive military intervention in Syria.
More than 100 mercenaries from the Wagner group headed by Yevgeny Prigozhin, also known as “Putin’s chef†for his Kremlin catering contracts, arrived at a forward base in Libya in the first week of September to support eastern strongman Khalifa Haftar’s assault on the capital Tripoli, said the people, who included Libyan and Western officials. All asked not to be named because they weren’t authorized to speak with the press.
A Russian mercenary commander also confirmed that Wagner contractors were fighting in Libya, and said that some had been killed in action there. Their arrival this month coincided with an escalation in airstrikes in support of Haftar, who’s pushing for decisive gains on the battlefield to strengthen his hand before an international peace conference expected next month. His forces have been bogged down at Tripoli’s outskirts since early April.
Read more at: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/putins-chef-deploys-mercenaries-libya-071117978.html
Significant if Russia is actually supporting the Haftar troops. Other articles say Qatar and Egypt sparred over Libya as well at the United Nations.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-egypt-libya-idUSKBN1W924WIt doesn't make sense that the renegade troops would be supported.
Some say it's about the Muslim Brotherhood coming to power, others would contend that saying the MB could take power, is a bit of a bogeyman in all of this.
