UN blames Russian Wagner Group for showering Libya with 1,200 mercenaries

A report by a UN working group has blamed Wagner Group, a Russian security company, for smuggling inside war-torn Libya up to 1,200 mercenaries who have been on the side of rebel Gen. Khalifa Haftar.

The report, drafted by independent sanctions monitors and submitted to the UN Security Council Libya sanctions committee, stressed that the company, allegedly close to Moscow, has smuggled into Libya sniper teams other than military expertise.

Libyan sanction monitors basing their 57-page report on sources from AP, AFP, Reuters, estimates the number of Wagner Group foreign fighters at between 800 and 1,200.

Haftar who has been pushing to seize capital Tripoli since April last year, was recently accused by the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) interior minister, of having handed over to the Russian company several military bases including Jufra and Al-Watiya to use them for attacks on Tripoli, Libya Observer reports.

The monitors also told the UN that several nationalities including Syrians, Ukrainians, and Belarussians make up Wager contingents.

The GNA is also blamed for recruiting Syrian fighters. Turkey early this year deployed its troops as well as Syrian mercenaries to prop up the fragile GNA.