Reports: Up to 35 Russian Mercenaries Killed in Libya
By Jamie Dettmer
October 4, 2019 02:35 PM
MOSCOW - As many as 35 Russian mercenaries are reported to have been killed in Libya while they were fighting for Khalifa Haftar, the military general most associated with the rule of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi, who launched an offensive earlier this year on the Libyan capital of Tripoli, home to the country’s internationally-recognized government, according to a Russian media.
The mercenaries are thought to work for the Wagner Group, a military contractor run by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a businessman nicknamed Putin’s Chef because he holds lucrative Kremlin catering contracts.
Asked by VOA about the reports of the fatalities in an airstrike on the outskirts of Tripoli, where Haftar’s forces have been bogged down for months, Maria Zakharova, the Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, said she had “no detailed information†and suggested directing questions to Russia’s defense ministry.
Read more at: https://www.voanews.com/africa/reports-35-russian-mercenaries-killed-libya
Early in this 2 year conflict, it was said France was helping out Haftar troops while a lot of Libyan oil goes straight across the Mediterranean to Italy who is nearby. So, in that instance, Italy is on the side of the UN recognized government in Tripoli, the GNA while France allegedly was helping out Haftar troops. I'd guess, France is no longer involved in this. Some complex war, why? would Russia be helping out the "renegade" govenment? As Egypt and UAE help them too. Big question marks, could be the Muslim Brotherhood or perhaps some other natural resources and I don't mean just oil.
