US intelligence has questioned the intention of the Russian private military company (PMC) Wagner to leave Libya. Writes about this CNN.
The country’s permanent ceasefire agreement requires all foreign mercenaries to leave. However, satellite images published by the TV channel recorded a giant trench 70 kilometers long. It was dug on the strategically important line between the city of Sirte and the military base in al-Jufra, on the road leading to the “oil crescent” – the largest oil and gas fields in Libya.
According to intelligence, the trenches were built by Russian mercenaries. The work allegedly continued in January. According to a spokesman for American intelligence, the PMC “is settling down seriously and for a long time.”
In Libya, for a long time, there has been a confrontation between the government of national accord (PNC), which controls Tripoli and the territories in the west of the country and is supported by Turkey, and the Libyan National Army (LNA), which is supported by Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Its unofficial allies are France and the United Arab Emirates – the latter, according to some sources, supplied the army with equipment, including equipment purchased from Russia. In October 2020, the parties signed an agreement on the introduction of a permanent ceasefire. According to the agreement, all foreign military forces and armed groups must leave the country.
Moscow has been repeatedly accused of using its mercenaries in different countries. In particular, they talked about the Wagner PMC, an unofficial armed group that is associated with the St. Petersburg businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin. His mercenaries are believed to provide security services in several African states, including Libya.
