According to a UN expert, the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine is also affecting Libya. Chaloka Beyani said on Monday in Geneva that the number of foreign mercenaries in the North African civil war country has decreased because “another market for mercenaries” has opened up. As part of a group of experts, the Zambian-British lawyer is collecting evidence of rights violations in Libya on behalf of the UN Human Rights Council. The number of mercenaries from the Russian group Wagner in Libya has fallen, he said.
The private security company is considered to be the shadow army of Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, the Kremlin chief has denied ties with the force. According to British intelligence, Russia was most likely forced to reprioritize personnel from Wagner to Ukraine at the expense of operations in Africa and Syria. This was reported by the Ministry of Defense in London in March.
However, not all foreign fighters have been withdrawn from Libya, according to the report presented by Beyani and his colleagues. Mercenaries are prolonging the conflict in the country and may have disregarded international rules to protect civilians, it said.