Russian troops in Libya. Tunisian zalet. Why Putin is interfering in the war in Libya. New applicants for Russian aid
What is Russia doing in Libya? September 16th, 2017
With Syria, everything is more or less clear. Western analysts are already openly saying that this intervention is successful because it helped to achieve the original goal, that is, the salvation of the Syrian government led by Assad. Moreover, as the same analysts and experts note, “these results were achieved with the help of rather limited resources. use (about 3 million euros per day), about a quarter or a fifth of US efforts in the region. "
Maybe someone is not in the know, but Russia is now taking a rather active position in long-suffering Libya. And what is she doing there?
This is how Western analysts describe it.
In the wake of Russian military intervention in Syria, Moscow's role in the Libyan civil war may seem, at first glance, a kind of déjà vu. Once again, the Kremlin seems to be helping a pro-Russian regional dictator consolidate power and create a "crescent of Russian influence" in the Middle East. Like Syrian President Assad, Haftar often positions himself as a bulwark against violent extremism in Libya, the article says.
“However, the actual strategy of Russia does not imply bombing Libya to force it to recognize as its leader“ the man of Moscow. ”Russia's intentions in Libya to a much greater extent involve cooperation with the international community, although not to the detriment of its own national interests,” the authors note.
Khalifa Haftar
"There is no doubt that Russia has relied on Haftar," the authors write. He was repeatedly received in Moscow as a foreign leader already in office.
Moscow printed some $ 3 billion worth of Libyan dinars on behalf of the Central Bank of Libya, controlled by Haftar, and sent Russian specialists to repair and upgrade LNA military equipment, which is almost entirely based on the Soviet arsenal, the article said.
“Russia expects to gain three benefits from supporting Haftar. First, Moscow hopes that Haftar will eventually gain enough political power to give Russia the honorable privilege of making economic deals to offset its financial losses: $ 150 million in construction revenue. projects, $ 3 billion from a contract with Russian Railways, up to $ 3.5 billion from energy deals and at least $ 4 billion from arms sales, which occurred due to the fall of the Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, "the authors argue.
"Secondly, Russia expects Haftar's help in strengthening its martial law in the Mediterranean, which will allow Moscow to expand its influence off the coast of Europe and strengthen its position in the Middle East and North Africa... In 2008, Gaddafi began to discuss the issue of Russian naval bases in Libya. Although none of them were ultimately rented out, Russian officials returned to the idea after discussing with Haftar the possibility of opening a base near Benghazi, "the article says.
Finally, Russia seeks political benefits from the ability to resolve regional crises. Given this goal, it would be too risky for Russia to rely solely on Haftar, whose ability to establish control over the entire country is still questionable, the authors note. It is with this that they associate Russia's readiness to cooperate in the UN with the international community on Libya and support for the embargo on the import of weapons into the country, which is extremely disadvantageous for Haftar.
"Russia may benefit from a coalition government in Libya with Haftar as the head of the armed forces than a government fully controlled by Haftar. The former will mean, to some extent, political reconciliation between the main conflicting parties in the state and, thus, sufficient stability. guaranteeing long-term economic investment and the construction of military facilities, which Russia is seeking, without fear that all this may be suddenly lost, as after the fall of Gaddafi, "the authors believe.
“Ultimately, the main return on investment in Libya that Russia expects is not a base or a contract. It is the ability to substantiate one of the central ideas that it tells the world and its citizens all about. last years: what the US broke, Russia can fix, "conclude Pigman and Orton.
sources
Recently, the Tunisian authorities detained a ship with military equipment and ammunition. The first to report this were Maritime Bulletin and Agenzia Nova. According to Maritime Bulletin, the Panama-flagged vessel Ural was heading to Cameroon. The operator of the ship is the Turkish company Akdeniz Roro. The ship arrived at the Tunisian port of Sfax for repairs - according to the Russian embassy, as stated by TASS, the ship got into a storm and requested a call at the Tunisian port. Upon examination, the customs found 24 containers with BMPs, bulldozers, uniforms, walkie-talkies and satellite communications equipment.
The agency claims that the authorities of the republic, naturally, decided to check the ship's crew for involvement in terrorism. At the same time, Maritime Bulletin calls the Ural route strange: the ship crossed the Ionian Sea, which is not required if you go to Cameroon, then approached the coast of Libya, and then went to Sfax. Agenzia Nova also writes that such a route has raised suspicion in Tunisia.
Later it turned out, again according to information from Russian diplomats, that the mysterious truck had left the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. However, the same diplomats said that on 20 February the Tunisian authorities did not allow them to board the ship, although, they claim, there are no Russian citizens on board. Then the version began to be clarified: "The ship, owned by the Turkish company Akdeniz Roro, was heading from Novorossiysk to the Cameroon port of Douala with cargo intended for the authorities of the Central African Republic," the agency quotes the words of a representative of the Russian diplomatic mission. But the "situation with the ship" turns out to be "not quite the same" as it is described in the "Marine Bulletin".
These oddities are predictable. In this regard, it is mentioned that in January an African dry cargo ship rammed the Russian warship Yamal on its way to Syria. The vessel has previously delivered cargo, including ammunition, to the Syrian Arab Republic on several occasions.
Therefore, the maneuvers off the Libyan shores of the "Turkish ship" leaving the Russian port aroused natural suspicions: in Libya, a country that mainly consists - in the demographic sense - of one coast, the civil war continues. Repeatedly over the past two years, difficult to verify information has flashed about the growing presence in the country of either Russian military personnel, or private military companies. Moreover, it is difficult to verify, since such companies do not officially exist. And there is, for example, the firm "Europolis", which is related to the chef-military leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who has become a favorite of the American media and the prosecutor's office, who gave orders to battalion-level formations to seize industrial facilities in Syria. But she hires builders, plumbers, electricians to work abroad. Why is it necessary to go to Syria? Why not to neutral Finland, since St. Petersburg is not far from there?
True, in Finland, Putin still cannot, and does not want to incite civil war, but in Libya, the Kremlin has long been putting on one of the sides - General Khalifa Haftar. Considering that the supply of weapons to Libya is illegal, the secrecy of such a smuggling mission is obvious, but the trouble, savings or abuse in the chain of contractors who chartered an old ship led to such an embarrassment. A Turkish, relatively friendly (although nearby, in Syrian Afrin, the Assad and Putin gangs shoot at the Turks hiding behind the local hybrid units, and both sides, to varying degrees, get from the Kurds) company, the Panamanian flag, an intricate official route.
But will this disguise help deceive the government of the first and successful Arab Spring revolution, as well as its painfully attentive French and American partners?
According to Tunisian security officials, the weapons were intended for illegal armed groups, and now the case is being dealt with by the anti-terrorist unit of the Ministry of Justice. They believe that the equipment carried by this flagship of the ichtamnet fleet and military equipment intended for no less than a military camp. It is noted that the crew of the vessel was detained, but his National composition not sounded.
But here you should go back a year.
In March 2017, Reuters reported, citing insider sources from the United States and Egypt, that Russia had deployed a small group of forces. special purpose in Egypt, near the Libyan border. It (wrote about this "") was about Sidi Barrani's airbase. A Russian transporter and a large drone were also spotted. The group consisted of 22 people.
In early February, the same group was spotted at another Egyptian base - in the city of Mersa Matruh. The interlocutors of the agency suggested that the Russians were sent to Egypt to support the Libyan field marshal Khalifa Haftar, the so-called supreme commander of the armed forces of Libya. On him, with varying success at war with the "Benghazi Defense Brigades" for control over oil terminals, the Kremlin, apparently, made a bet. True, official Moscow adhered to a policy of denying its presence in Libya, the defeat in which during the "Arab Spring" hurt Putin's pride and motivated him to force his return to the presidency.
Middle Eastern media do not exclude the possibility that the weapons on board Ural were intended for Libya, for some Russian-friendly field commander, someone who visited the aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov", - suggests Chief Editor"Sea Bulletin" Mikhail Voitenko.
Haftar fits this description. He opposes the head of the government of national unity Fayez Saraj, who is supported by the West and the world community.
Earlier, in 2016, Haftar visited Moscow twice, having publicly met with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. In January 2017, advancing south of Libya, Haftar's forces clashed with forces loyal to the government of national unity, which Haftar does not recognize. Shortly thereafter, in August 2017, he held new talks with Lavrov and Shoigu regarding military assistance from the Russian Federation.
But why does Moscow need a third war in a row? Moreover, in the context of growing tension on the Afghan-Tajik border and the Far East?
Putin invaded Syria for four reasons. This is, firstly, a distraction of the attention of the plebs from the impasse in the Donbass, similar to the defeat of Russia.
Second, intimidation of the West by raising militaristic rates and stimulating the exodus of migrants from the Middle East to the EU.
Third, it is the "monarchist" principle of clinging to Assad.
Finally, fourthly, an economic gain for their courtiers, such as Sechin or Prigozhin, with a parallel comfortable utilization of the "militias".
But Libya?
Pushing up the price of oil? Continuation of the rate hike after the generals' trousers of the "anpirator" burst with such a bang on the banks of the Euphrates? Or again, profit for courtiers and the need to occupy the restless warriors with something? Banal revenge for the epic fall of Gaddafi? Or just some inertia? Alone, all these reasons do not play, because, for example, there is no way to distract attention from Syria - in the conditions of the next genocide by Russians and Iranians of the population of the Damascus suburb, Eastern Ghouta. Moreover, on February 25, the Russian large landing ship "Azov" entered Tartus. Perhaps with new units of "vacationers" who will be sent to storm with bleeding blood, like Aleppo and Eastern Ghouta once did.
Meanwhile, sanctions continue to tighten for other reasons and directions. And the influence of the Libyan oil field on world prices today is scanty. But you can pay attention to the fact that shortly before the new year, on December 17, Haftar issued a special statement in which he said that all efforts to resolve the crisis in Libya politically had failed and now it was time for the army to determine the country's future. True, Libya does not have a government with full legitimacy; it has disintegrated into cities with its own militias, tribal groups, Islamic State and Al-Qaeda gangs and franchises.
Russian troops will bring nothing but the same chaos as in Syria. But perhaps the bloody chaos with the opportunity to earn a little extra money and round off the political and information capital is the mission of Putin's Russia on the farthest African approaches? There is nothing to be surprised at, but the stretch of the front of this Kremlin parody of Batu's campaigns is already too obvious.
However, with all the sympathy for the peoples of these countries, who have fallen victim to the infantilism of the Western elites, it should be noted: the deeper Russia gets bogged down in Syria and, potentially, Libya, the easier it will be for the Ukrainians to keep their front and knock out the enemy from the territories it has seized. And yet, whether it is a case, hack, or the observation of the Tunisian border guards and their allies - this is a chance to minimize the damage and the number of deaths that Moscow brings to the Greater Middle East. And a new, good reason to "push", as the now disgraced Vladimir Yakunin put it in telephone conversations with accomplices, Moscow has more sanctions. So if you catch the Ural big and small, and the American interrogators who have flown to Tunisia, I suppose, will shake out from the disguised Russian spies enough new and interesting information about the crimes of the world terrorist number one.
In Ukraine, we managed to find a person who fought in Libya. The story of a mercenary in Libya.
The story of a Ukrainian mercenary.
Mercenary activity has long been a full-fledged profession. It has many names, but only one meaning. In France, the soldier for hire was nicknamed "legionnaires", in Germany Landsknecht (servant of the country), in the United States they are called "wild geese."
The history of Ukrainian mercenary activity begins with the birth of an independent Ukraine. In the 90s, when the economy was bursting at the seams, military units collapsed one after another across the country. Experienced officers were literally driven out into the street. It was during this period that the first Ukrainian soldiers rushed abroad in search of happiness. Chechnya, Sierra Leone, Karabakh, Transnistria, Yugoslavia, South Ossetia. More recently - another milestone - Libya.
Officially, ours were not there. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly stated that news about the Ukrainian military is nothing but a duck of journalists. By the way, journalists, primarily Western ones, wrote about Ukrainian mercenaries in Libya in the early days of the clashes. For example, on February 22, the American publication Stratfor, citing its sources, disseminated information that Ukrainian pilots on Soviet MiGs allegedly bombed rebel troops and peaceful demonstrations against Gaddafi. It was even reported that one of our aces was taken prisoner.
Later - on August 23 - an employee of the American channel Channel 4 News discovered the Ukrainian trace in the Libyan war. On Twitter, she wrote: “Libyan rebels captured Ukrainian mercenaries who fought on the side of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. I saw 11 men walking with their hands up. The rebel commander said they were hired killers who came to Libya from Ukraine. "
Earnings
In Ukraine, we managed to find a man who fought in Libya. 39-year-old Vladimir Lyakhovich (as he asked to be called) came home from the unrest-ridden country just a month ago.
There he commanded a unit of troops of the government of Muammar Gaddafi in Misrata for several months. Several times his life hung in the balance. Just before leaving, he was seriously wounded in the shoulder.
Vladimir did not give permission to publish his photo. Even his wife and schoolgirl daughter have no idea what he actually did in Tripoli - they believe he worked as a contract driver for a used car company. But in fact, Lyakhovich (by the way, he is from an officer's family, with weapons from childhood to you) for the first time in hot spot visited in 1999 (Kosovo) as a peacemaker. There he met people who were recruiting mercenaries.
- As soon as the turmoil from Egypt spread to Libya, I realized that I could find a job. I went out to recruiters - they always become active in such unstable periods, - says Vladimir. - Moreover, Libya is a rich country, the technology there is Soviet, the Arabs do not know how to fight ... I learned through my own channels: the mercenaries are being recruited by a company from Odessa. In the early days of the war, they sent a plane with engineers to Tripoli. These guys in the 90s served aviation and rocket launchers in Libya. A little later I heard that two dozen infantrymen flew to Jamahiriya. In the past, they took part in peacekeeping operations, and some have even "run in" in Georgia.
Vladimir arrived in Odessa in mid-February. A small office in the city center recruited technicians to Arab countries. Oilmen, engineers, drivers were needed. Main condition: good health and military service.
- A young girl gave me a contract on two sheets of paper, said, I will work as a driver in a car sales company, - continues Volodya. - The flight was scheduled for the first days of March, but not to Tripoli, but to neighboring Sudan. Under this contract, I was promised 4 thousand dollars a month.
Vladimir says that five young guys flew with him, one from Donetsk, the rest from Nikolaev and Odessa regions. At the airport, the Ukrainian commandos were met by an Arab who identified himself as Ibrahim. The guys were seated in cars and taken to Tripoli. No visas were placed at the border, mercenaries were imported illegally.
“We met with the military commander at a hotel on the outskirts of Tripoli, he spoke excellent Russian,” says Vladimir Lyakhovich. - We were briefly told about weapons, asked what is closer to us. Gaddafi needed snipers, commanders of military units, soldiers who know how to handle complex weapons. The Libyans were armed with the same machines as we have. Kalashnikov assault rifles, Soviet anti-aircraft guns, cannons, rocket systems salvo fire"Grad". Heavy - T-72 and T-62 tanks, combat vehicles infantry BMP-1, armored personnel carriers BTR-60, combat reconnaissance vehicles BRDM-2, self-propelled art installations 2S1 "Gvozdika" and 2S3 "Akatsiya".
I was assigned to the command of an infantry platoon. It consisted of about 30 people, mainly from the African states neighboring Libya. There were two guys from Serbia, one from Moldova. The rest of the guys who flew in from Ukraine went to snipers, one to the pilots.
All the nuances were sorted out quickly. I was given a certificate with a false name and surname, which bore a serial number. We set combat missions.
The "salary" was immediately increased - 10 thousand dollars a month. They promised if it gets really "hot" - $ 1,500 a day.
Russians in Libya
After a month of more or less calm service - the base where Vladimir served, protected the tranquility of Tripoli - a real hell has come. In March, the command of the Libyan troops decided to transfer Vladimir's platoon to Misurata. At that time, Gaddafi's troops had already taken this city three times, but they constantly had to retreat.
“We arrived in Misurata on April 13, and three days later a real massacre began in the city,” Vladimir reluctantly recalls. - 24 hours a day, heavy fire did not stop.
I do not know who participated in this meat grinder, my guys had their own tasks, but on the radio air I constantly heard Russian speech. In the center of the city there was the tallest building, where Ukrainian and Belarusian snipers worked. During the next NATO air raid, the building was destroyed. Everyone inside was killed.
It is not known how his business trip would have ended for Vladimir, but on April 27 he received a stray bullet in the shoulder. He himself considers it luck. Because just at that time a lull was established - the next negotiations on an armistice began. Lyakhovich received his money, documents, left for Tripoli, and from there got home (he doesn't want to say exactly how).
- A mercenary has few rights in a war, if you come, fight to the end. Got captured - consider that you are a corpse, - says Vladimir. - At the end of April, several dozen soldiers of Slavic appearance who speak Russian were arrested in Misrata. They were transferred to Benghazi prison pending trial. What happened to them is unknown. Judging by how often the Ukrainian authorities repeat that our compatriots are not in Libya, they would rather be shot than returned. After all, this is a huge scandal, houses can also be imprisoned. The mercenaries also understand this. Therefore, when the guys are captured, they do not say which country they came from ...
With reference to anonymous American and Egyptian military-diplomatic sources, he said that Russia allegedly placed military specialists and drones at an airbase in Egypt near the Libyan border. At the same time, the agency did not provide any confirmation of the information. The Egyptian military has officially categorically denied this information.
Reuters' US government and diplomatic sources suggest that "the deployment of the military may be part of an attempt to support the Libyan army commander, Khalifa Haftar."
Anonymous sources say that "the US has spotted something that is likely to be Russian troops and drones" in Sidi Barrani, about 100 kilometers from the Libyan border. Egyptian sources told the agency that 22 soldiers allegedly arrived at the base.
The Egyptian army denies the presence of Russian troops. "On the territory of Egypt, there are no foreign military from any country. This is a matter of sovereignty," the agency quotes the words of a spokesman for the army Tamer Al-Rifai.
The agency also notes that it could not independently confirm the presence of the Russian military, drones or aircraft in Egypt.
First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs Vladimir Dzhabarov, commenting on media reports, called them fake and noted that they were not worth attention, and Viktor Ozerov, the head of the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security, considered them a continuation of anti-Russian rhetoric.
Earlier, Reuters has already presented similar materials on the topic of "the Russian military presence in Libya." Last week it was reported that several dozen employees of the "Russian private military company RSB-Group" had cleared mines at an industrial facility in Benghazi. However, it later became clear that the agency had issued specialists from a commercial company for the "mercenaries". The official representative of the Libyan army, Colonel Ahmed al-Mismari, told RIA Novosti that it was about cement plant in this city.
In turn, the owner of the "RSB-group" Oleg Krinitsyn explained to RIA Novosti that the company is not a military one - its specialists really cleared an important enterprise in Libya, but the contract was signed on the civilian line.
Reports from anonymous sources to Reuters came amid statements by the US and British military departments, which in recent weeks have begun to actively express concern over contacts between representatives of Russia and Libya. In particular, on March 9, Pentagon officials spoke about this at a hearing in the US Senate. Earlier, British Defense Minister Michael Fallon said that the West is not satisfied with Russia's contacts with Libya. According to the British minister, Moscow, in contact with the commander of the Libyan national army, Khalifa Haftar, "is testing the West's strength, testing the alliance." Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, in turn, later commented on the statement of his British colleague that the West does not want "a bear to stick its paws into Libya," saying that it is unlikely that "a beast that can point to a bear has grown up in their zoo." ...
Haftar is known as the enemy of the Islamists, the troops under his command are fighting the IS * group in the city of Benghazi. Haftar visited Moscow in 2016 in June and November to meet with the heads of the Russian Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Defense, as well as the secretary of the Security Council. According to the commander, the supply of weapons was not discussed, since Russia adheres to the UN arms embargo against Libya.
* The Islamic State (IS) terrorist group is banned in Russia.
The Libyan army, led by Khalifa Haftar, has dealt serious blows to militants in the oil crescent region thanks to Moscow's support across the Libyan-Egyptian border.
Russia is moving from diplomacy to military action
On Tuesday, General Khalifa Haftar's forces backing the House of Representatives in Tobruk launched an offensive to re-establish positions in two of the country's most important oil areas in the northeast, which are under the control of armed groups. In this regard, it was reported that Russia was sending military from a base in Egypt to the Libyan border.
According to the director of the press service of the Libyan army, Khalifa Al-Abidi, "a joint offensive was carried out by ground, air and naval forces in order to free the port of Ras Lanuf from terrorists."
He explained that "the commander-in-chief of the Libyan army on Tuesday morning ordered to launch an offensive on Ras Lanuf and El Sider." This is due to the fact that on March 3, the Benghazi Defense Brigades took up some positions in Ras Lanuf.
Since then, the Libyan National Army, led by Haftar, has carried out daily air raids, but without strengthening its positions on the ground.
Russia at the military frontier
The offensive of the Libyan army coincided with talks about the deployment of several dozen Russian troops until the end of February in the territory controlled by Khalifa Haftar. Since Moscow is providing him with diplomatic support, this has caused concern in Western countries, primarily in Washington.
Context
While we hesitate, Moscow acts
The Times 03/15/2017Russian soldiers in Libya
Reuters 03/13/2017What is Russian special forces doing in Egypt?
Reuters 03/15/2017Russia is a passive spectator in Libya
Afrigatenews 03/15/2017Gaddafi's money for the Russian bear
Al-Watan Saudi Arabia 03/07/2017A few days ago, Russia deployed special forces at a base in western Egypt near the border with Libya, according to American and Egyptian diplomatic sources.
American diplomats said that any such deployment of forces could be regarded as an attempt to provide military support to General Khalifa Haftar, who undertook new attempt oppose the Benghazi Defense Brigade movement, trying to regain control of the oil ports.
American officials, who wished to remain anonymous, noted that Russian drones were seen on the border with Libya in the area 100 km from the Sidi Barani base.
The Russian Ministry of Defense denied this information and did not confirm the presence Russian forces in Egypt.
Vladimir Dzhabarov, first deputy chairman of the International Affairs Committee in the Federation Council, commented on the news of the dispatch of Russian forces to a military base in Egypt: “Russia did not do this. This is fake news. "
Egyptian security sources gave some details, saying that a 22-man Russian special operations unit was present in Egypt, but declined to comment on the details of their mission. The source also added that in early February, Russia used the Marsa Matruh military base east of Sidi Barrani.
Over the past two years, both Western countries and the United States have sent special forces and military advisers to Libya. but american army denied any information that she assisted in the operation against the "Islamic State" in Sirte last year.
The question of Russia's role in Libya is particularly acute in the light of Washington's growing fears. America fears Moscow's intentions to restore its influence in this oil country, with which it had excellent relations during the Soviet era.
The UN-recognized government in Tripoli has stalled in dialogue with Haftar and Russian officials in recent months. Moscow expects to increase its diplomatic support for Khalifa Haftar, despite the wrath of Western countries. After all, Russia already has experience of interfering in Syria and supporting Bashar al-Assad.
The Libyan National Army has taken control of four oil ports in the east of the country - Zuvetina, Burayka, Ras Lanuf and El Sider. Most of Libyan oil is exported through them. Until September, these facilities were under the control of a government recognized by the international community.
"Libyan chaos" began after the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Then two competing centers of power emerged - one is in Tripoli and is supported by the international community, the other is in Tobruk and is headed by General Khalifa Haftar.
The Benghazi Defense Brigades movement includes various Islamic movements. They are working against the forces of Khalifa Haftar in the east of the country.
Government of National Unity ( in Tripoli - approx. lane.) stated that it had nothing to do with the escalation of the military conflict in the area of the crescent of oil ports and did not have any information about which forces were involved in these events. They also expressed condemnation of what is happening, as it undermines the hopes of the Libyans to stop the bloodshed.
InoSMI materials contain estimates exclusively foreign media and do not reflect the position of the editors of Inosmi.