Uptick in Russian special forces in Libya is a reminder of the Kremlin’s Africa ambitions

Over the last few months, Moscow has sent special forces to help Tripoli’s main adversary

What happened

The Kremlin continues to expand its military presence in Africa, with Libya the latest country to see an increase in Russian troop numbers. Officially, Russia and the West recognize the government in Tripoli. But, over the last few months, Moscow has sent special forces to help Tripoli’s main adversary, Marshall Khalifa Haftar, who controls the east of the country that is rich in oil. Russia has an agreement with the Libyan government to develop oil fields in the east, but the government does not control these territories.

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Russian troops in Libya include several dozen special forces and military intelligence officers (GRU), British tabloid The Sun reported Monday. The newspaper is often unreliable, but this news has been confirmed by the the RBC news website and sources who spoke with The Bell. “It’s true, we have been training guys for several weeks and moving them in in groups,” one source in the Russian Defense Ministry told The Bell. He said Russian forces have been in Libya for some time, both as civil and military advisors. Officially, Moscow refutes its participation in the Libyan conflict.

Sources close to the Russian Ministry of Defense and the Libyan government told RBC that “elite divisions” have been sent to Libya in recent months. Only Russian military personnel are in Libya, a source who took part in the wars in Ukraine and Syria explained to The Bell. Salaries in Libya, he said, were several times higher than what he was paid in these other conflicts.

In Libya, Russia’s ally is the army of Marshall Khalifa Haftar. In February, he askedRussia for military support and participated in a video conference with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. Since Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown in 2011, Libya has been split between rival powers: the east and part of the south are controlled by Haftar’s army, while the west and the center, including Tripoli, are controlled by the government officially recognized by the West and Russia.

Many suggest that Moscow’s interest in Libya is linked to the country’s energy reserves. In February 2017, Russia’s state-owned oil giant Rosneft and Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) signed a cooperation agreement. The NOC is based out of the government’s stronghold in the west, but most of the country’s oil fields are in the east.

Why the world should care

Since mid-2017, Africa has been an important new focus for Kremlin foreign policy. In just a year, Russia has signed military cooperation agreements with a dozen African countries and private Russian military companies, led by Wagner (famous for its role in Syria) have made their presence felt in Sudan, the Central African Republic and the Congo. For the Kremlin, Africa is a means of keeping its mercenaries busy, helping to strengthen its international influence and a way of gaining access to valuable natural resources.

Anastasia Stognei

Anton Baev and Egor Sonin contributed to this newsletter

This newsletter is supported by the Investigative Reporting Program at UC Berkeley.