The director of the Libyan National Army’s (LNA) Moral Guidance Department, Khaled Al-Mahjoub, announced that naval forces were deployed to defend the Libyan coast off the Oil Crescent from any penetration, and denied the use of Russian forces on the ground.
Al Arabiya quoted Al-Mahjoub as saying on Sunday that the LNA used Russian experts to restore some weapons – as the army’s weapons are Russian-made – but that any claims of Russian participation in the fighting is merely propaganda from the Muslim Brotherhood.
It is noteworthy that the US military has again accused Russia of sending weapons, including anti-aircraft missiles to Libya, and sending Russian mercenaries to operate on the front lines of the conflict there.
“It is assessed that the Russian Federation continues to violate UN Security Council Resolution UNSCR 1970 by actively providing military equipment and fighters to the front lines of the conflict in Libya,” US Africa Command, which oversees US military operations on the continent, said in a statement on Friday.
Turkey and mercenaries:
The LNA spokesman, Ahmed Al-Mesmari, reiterated that Turkey is continuing to deploy mercenaries and support terrorism in the country, thus expanding its influence in front of the world without anyone reacting.
In a statement, Al-Mismari stressed that Ankara is continuing to transfer new batches of Syrian mercenaries to the western city of Misrata, in a flagrant violation to international demands for a ceasefire and peace.
Ankara is expanding and nobody listened:
Al-Mesmari also stressed that what Ankara is doing constitutes a violation of Arab and international resolutions, which prevent the transfer of mercenaries and foreign fighters to Libya.
He concluded by accusing “Turkey of supporting terrorism and crime in Libya and working to achieve its ambitions to control the geographical territory of Libya and its resources and wealth”, pointing out that nobody is listening to these concerns while Turkey is expanding.
Furthermore, Libyan activists posted a video from an Afriqiyah airways plane, showing the transfer of new batches of Syrian mercenaries to Misrata to fight alongside the Turkish-backed factions of the Government of National Accord (GNA) against the Libyan National Army (LNA).
16,500 mercenaries in Libya
These statements come after the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) announced on Thursday, that the Turkish government continues to transfer Syrian factions to Libya to participate in armed operations alongside the GNA.
SOHR announced the arrival of new batches during the past few days, while other batches returning to Syria were also recorded after the expiration of their contracts in Libya.
According to the statistics of the Observatory, the number of conscripts who have gone to Libya has so far risen to approximately 16,500 mercenaries of Syrian nationality, including 350 children under the age of 18, while nearly 5,850 returned to Syria after their contracts expired and after receiving their financial dues.
On the other side, the United Nations Sanctions Committee announced that Ankara had sent between 7,000 and 15,000 Syrian fighters to Libya, adding that “the Syrian interim government in Turkey helped send troops to Libya.” It also considered in a report on Friday that Libya is turning into a large arms market because of the violations of the United Nations’ arms embargo.