Investigation: UAE-funded foreign mercenaries crush Libya

UAE-funded foreign mercenaries cause colossal dilemmas for the Libyan nationals trying to stabilize the
country after the long destructive internal conflict.

As part of its aggressive intervention in Libya, the UAE swept the country with foreign mercenaries to
support its war criminal ally, Khalifa Haftar.

So, the head of the Libyan National Unity Government, Abdel Hamid al-Dabaiba, stated that his
government seeks to build a civil state with a real, strong, organized army to get out of the country’s crisis.

However, this endeavour faces the dilemma of foreign mercenaries, led by the mercenaries of the
Russian Wagner Company, who Abu Dhabi funded to bring to Libya to support its influence.

But, the former Libyan Chief of Staff, Major General Youssef Al-Manqoush, stated that Wagner’s
mercenaries had become an official Russian presence in Libyan territory, and even Khalifa Haftar could
not expel them.

Moreover, Al-Manqoush said that the foreign forces in Libya are of two types. The first came to Libya
based on official agreements between two legitimate governments, the Turkish troops. There are no
Turkish combat forces in Libya, but instead, they are training and technical advisory teams.

He added that “the other forces are the mercenary forces that came without the permission of the state
and were brought by a certain party, who initially hired them and then became unable to exercise control
over them,” referring to the Emirati-backed Haftar.

He continued, “The mercenaries can also be classified into two categories: one of them is the
mercenaries of the Russian Wagner Company, who have become an official Russian presence in Libyan
lands, and there are the African mercenaries brought by Haftar and are growing and benefiting from the
capabilities that are granted to them and even affecting their countries.”

Al-Manqoush stressed that “the foreign forces that came based on official agreements, their exit is governed by laws, agreements and regulations.”

“As for the other forces, and by them, I mean the Russian forces, the process of their exit has become
very difficult because the party that entered them, Khalifa Haftar, cannot get them out, and the Russian
forces will not leave Libya except with an international agreement in which the Russian state gets a price for its exit.”

Then, he pointed out that African mercenaries are the weakest link. They can be expelled in cooperation
with their countries, Chad and Sudan because they are forces opposed to these countries, and even
removing them by force is not difficult.

Last May, a secret United Nations report revealed that the UAE is flooding Libya with tens of thousands
of mercenaries to serve its plots to spread chaos and sabotage.

The report, submitted to the UN Security Council and obtained by Emirates Leaks, considered the UAE
regime a significant obstacle to peace and stability in Libya.

Also, the UN report highlighted the UAE’s continued financial and military support for Khalifa Haftar’s
militias, including financing mercenary operations of several African nationalities.

As a result, in presenting the report, the United Nations envoy to Libya, Jan Kubis, expressed his regret to the
Security Council that efforts to reopen the coastal road between Sirte and Misrata and the withdrawal of
foreign forces from Libya were “stalemate.”

“Progress on key issues such as the reopening of the coastal road between Sirte and Misurata and the
start of the withdrawal of foreign mercenaries, fighters and forces has been slowing,” Kubis said during a
video meeting of the council on Friday.

Finally, he added that “more delay in reopening the road is against efforts to build confidence between the two
sides and could undermine efforts to move forward in implementing the ceasefire agreement and advance the political transition process.”