Haftar's offense on Tripoli, which contributed to the intensification of the conflict, made the presence of mercenaries more visible.
Since the commander of the Libyan National Army, General Khalifa Haftar, announced his attack on Tripoli on April 4 last year, media reports and statements by officials have revealed the presence of mercenaries among the forces of the Turkish-backed Government of National Accord and the Libyan National Army supported by the UAE, Egypt, and Russia.
Although several reports of the Security Council Panel of Experts previously indicated the presence of foreign fighters within the LNA and the forces of GNA, Haftar's latest offense, which contributed to the intensification of the conflict, made the presence of mercenaries more visible. Here is the map of mercenaries in Libya as of February 2020.
Sudanese forces supporting Haftar and Al-Serraj
The report of the Security Council Panel of Experts, issued in December 2019, revealed the presence of Sudanese fighters supporting the two parties in the conflict, specifically in the southern region of the country. The report pointed out that there is a total of about 2,200 fighters, most of whom are fighting beside the LNA forces, while approximately 160 are fighting with the GNA.
In addition, the report stated that they work either "separately as mercenaries or in organized groups". Their main tasks include: guarding infrastructure, protecting supply lines and some cities in southern Libya.
Among the groups that support Haftar’s forces is the "Sudan Liberation Army - Abdel Wahid faction", "Rapid Support Forces", "Sudan Liberation Army - Minni Minawi faction"and " Gathering of the Sudan Liberation Forces", whereas, the GNA forces relied on elements of the “Justice and Equality Movement”, which operates in Tripoli and in the area between Zillah and Sebha in the south.
Moreover, Reuters published a story about the transfer of a group of Sudanese, who signed work contracts with an Emirati security company, to Ras Lanuf, Libya, to protect oil installations.
The Sudanese Minister of Information, Faisal Mohamed Saleh, stated that "the Ministry of Labor reviewed the contracts of these Sudanese youth, and confirmed that they had already contracted legally with an Emirati company called Black Shield, but the latter offered them two options, either to work as security guards in the UAE or to go to protect oil installations in Libya."
In his statement, Saleh added that some of them preferred to remain in the Emirates, while others chose to go to Libya due to the higher financial offer they were given.
Tuareg and Mahameed
In a report entitled "Who fights who in Tripoli?", Wolfram Lacher, a senior member of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), said that "Tuareg and Mahameed fighters, most of whom do not have Libyan citizenship, joined the GNA forces defending Tripoli", and added in his report that, "These armed groups constitute a small percentage of the GNA government forces."
Lacher also pointed to in his report that Haftar's forces "recruited marginalized elements from the Mahameed tribe, most of whom came from Chad during the Qaddafi era and joined the 128th battalion led by Major Hassan al-Zadma."
Mercenaries from Chad
The report of the Security Council Committee panel of Experts revealed also the presence of Chadian fighting within LNA and the GNA forces. For instance, the commanders of the 116 and 128 battalions of the Haftar forces, Masoud Jedi and Hassan Maatouq Al-Zadma, recruited mercenary soldiers from Chad, in addition to Hassan Musa, a leader of the Tabu tribes, who was involved in recruiting the same groups for the forces of the GNA.The number of Chadian fighters reached about 1100 fighters in Libya, hundreds of whom joined the forces of the GNA in Murzuq, Sebha and Qatrun.
Among these Chadian groups that support the GNA are the "Military Command Council for the Salvation of the Republic" and the "Union of Resistance Forces", whose members are based in "Tmmasah" and “Waw Al-Kabir” in southern Libya.
There are also members of the "Front for Change and Concord in Chad”, which are entrusted by Haftar's forces with the "mission to defend the region against possible attacks from terrorists", while fighters from the "Union of Forces for Democracy and Development" are recruited by the GNA and the LNA.
The Russian Wagner Group
In May 2019, the Russian Newspaper Medusa published an investigation into the killing of 10 to 35 Russians in the Qasr Bin Ghashir area, in an air strike by the GNA forces targeted Haftar’s forces' operations building, marking the first announcement of the presence of Russian mercenaries in Libya.
The newspaper stated that "Russia is not part of the fighting in North Africa, but some Russian fighters provide tremendous support to one of the parties to the conflict, in exchange for promises from the Libyans to grant projects in the oil sector, highways and railways."
Additionally, during a press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Vladimir Putin stressed that "mercenaries of Wagner's company, if it is true that they are fighting in Libya, do not represent the Russian state and the latter does not finance them."
In the same regard, the US Bloomberg reported in September 2019 the existence of roughly 100 mercenaries belonging to the Russian company "Wagner" to support the "Libyan National Army".
The GNA Minister of the Interior, Fathi bashaga, told Bloomberg: "The Russians intervened to pour oil on the fire and fuel the crisis instead of finding a solution to it, and the proof of this is Wagner's deployment in Libya. It was sent to Syria before, and Central Africa, and wherever it went, Wagner is wreaking havoc."
Syrian fighters
After the security agreement signed by GNA with Turkey, videos of Syrian mercenaries spread on Social Media in Libya, but the media office of the Prime Minister of GNA, Fayez al-Sarraj, issued a statement denying the authenticity of those videos, stating that they were "old and taken earlier in Idlib province in Syria", and also pledged to "pursue all those who contribute to the spread of these lies and other fabrications."
Although GNA did not disclose the fact that there are Syrian fighters in its forces, the American researcher at the Carnegie Endowment for Peace, Frederick Weiri, published an investigation in which he revealed that he met with Syrian militias in Tripoli fighting in the front lines alongside the forces GNA.
Furthermore, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights mentioned that Ankara seeks to send about 6000 members, noting that they belong to the factions of "Al-Mu'tasim Brigade, Sultan Murad Brigade, Northern Falcons and Hamzat Brigade, Legion of the Levant and Suleiman Shah, and Samarkand Brigade."
The Guardian newspaper also published an investigation on January 15, stated that "2000 Syrian fighters have traveled from Turkey and will arrive soon to participate in the battlefields of Libya."
It is noteworthy that the UN envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salameh, had referred, in his last briefing to the Security Council in January 2020, to "the warring parties' continuing receipt of a large number of advanced equipment, fighters and advisers from external sponsors."
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