LNA Denies Haftar Seeking to Allow Russia to Set up Military Base in Libya

LNA commander Khalifa Haftar is seen with Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-bek Yevkurov during the former’s visit to Russia in September. (AFP)
LNA commander Khalifa Haftar is seen with Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-bek Yevkurov during the former’s visit to Russia in September. (AFP)
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LNA Denies Haftar Seeking to Allow Russia to Set up Military Base in Libya

LNA commander Khalifa Haftar is seen with Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-bek Yevkurov during the former’s visit to Russia in September. (AFP)
LNA commander Khalifa Haftar is seen with Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-bek Yevkurov during the former’s visit to Russia in September. (AFP)

An informed source in the Libyan National Army (LNA), commanded by Khalifa Haftar, denied to Asharq Al-Awsat that the military was planning on reaching an agreement with Russia to allow it to set up a military base in the country.

Bloomberg had reported that Russia was seeking to strike a defense agreement between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Haftar when the latter visited Moscow in September.

It quoted sources as saying that Haftar "was looking for air-defense systems to protect him against rival forces in Tripoli, who have been backed by Türkiye's military."

"He also wants training for his air force pilots and special forces," they said. "In return, a handful of air bases currently occupied by Wagner paramilitaries will be upgraded to host Russian forces."

"Russian warships may also get permanent docking rights at a Libyan port, most likely Tobruk, located just a few hundred kilometers across the Mediterranean from Greece and Italy, according to other people with knowledge of the talks," reported Bloomberg.

A week before his talks with Putin, Haftar met with commander of US forces in Africa General Michael Langley and current US special envoy to Libya Richard Norland. They pressed him to remove foreign forces from Libya.

A military source close to Haftar told Asharq Al-Awsat that the army was "playing its role in protecting Libya from foreign occupation."

Speaking on condition of anonymity, it stressed that the military cooperation agreements with Russia don’t include granting it any facilitations to set up military bases.

"Such misleading reports are aimed at diverting attention from foreign military presence in the country," it added, referring to Turkish and American forces at the Mitiga base in Tripoli and in the al-Watiya base, as well as Italian and British forces at the Misrata air base.

Haftar did not comment on the reports during his meeting on Monday with a delegation of elders and tribal leaders at his headquarters in the eastern city of Benghazi.



Weaponization of Food in Gaza Constitutes War Crime, UN Rights Office Says

A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches among the ruins of buildings destroyed by Israeli bombardments in west of Gaza City, Saturday, June 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches among the ruins of buildings destroyed by Israeli bombardments in west of Gaza City, Saturday, June 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
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Weaponization of Food in Gaza Constitutes War Crime, UN Rights Office Says

A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches among the ruins of buildings destroyed by Israeli bombardments in west of Gaza City, Saturday, June 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches among the ruins of buildings destroyed by Israeli bombardments in west of Gaza City, Saturday, June 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

The UN human rights office said on Tuesday that the "weaponization" of food for civilians in Gaza constitutes a war crime, in its strongest remarks yet on a new model of aid distribution run by an Israeli-backed organization.

Over 410 people have been killed by gunshots or shells fired by the Israeli military while trying to reach distribution sites of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation since it began work in late May, UN human rights spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan told reporters at a Geneva press briefing.

The death toll has been independently verified by his office, he added.

"Desperate, hungry people in Gaza continue to face the inhumane choice of either starving to death or risk being killed while trying to get food," he said, describing the system as "Israel's militarized humanitarian assistance mechanism".

"The weaponization of food for civilians, in addition to restricting or preventing their access to life-sustaining services, constitutes a war crime and, under certain circumstances, may constitute elements of other crimes under international law."

Asked whether Israel was guilty of that war crime, he said: "The legal qualification needs to be made by a court of law."

Israel rejects war crimes charges in Gaza and blames Hamas fighters for harm to civilians for operating among them, which the fighters deny.