A UN expert says Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine is also affecting Libya. Saloka Beyani said in Geneva on Monday that the number of foreign mercenaries in the civil war-torn North African country had opened up as “another market for mercenaries” had opened up. As part of a team of experts, the Zambian-British lawyer has been collecting evidence of rights abuses in Libya on behalf of the UN Human Rights Council. The number of mercenaries from the Russian group Wagner in Libya has declined, he said.
The private security firm is considered the shadow army of Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, the Kremlin leader has denied ties to the force. According to British intelligence, Russia was largely forced to redeploy personnel from Wagner to Ukraine at the expense of operations in Africa and Syria. This was announced by the Ministry of Defense in London in March.
However, according to the report provided by Bayani and his colleagues, not all foreign fighters have been withdrawn from Libya. It said mercenaries are perpetuating the conflict in the country and may be ignoring international norms protecting civilians.
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