Reports: 2,000 Wagner Mercenaries Remain in Libya

Mass grave in Tarhuna, east of Tripoli (Department of Missing Persons)
Mass grave in Tarhuna, east of Tripoli (Department of Missing Persons)
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Reports: 2,000 Wagner Mercenaries Remain in Libya

Mass grave in Tarhuna, east of Tripoli (Department of Missing Persons)
Mass grave in Tarhuna, east of Tripoli (Department of Missing Persons)

At least 1,500 to 2,000 Wagner Group mercenaries are still in Libya after dozens were transferred to fight in Ukraine, multiple sources told Italy's Nova news agency.

A UN team of experts reported that about 2,000 fighters remained in Libya with Pantsir S-1 anti-aircraft defense systems, MiG-29 fighters, and Su-24 tactical bombers.

The Financial Times cited Western and Libyan officials saying last month that 5,000 mercenaries remain in Libya on behalf of Moscow after several were withdrawn following the war in Ukraine, the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Many Libyans complain that the "mercenaries" and foreign forces did not leave their country, despite the steps taken by the Joint Military Committee (5 + 5) under the Geneva Agreement signed in October 2020.

Libyan politicians believe tensions prompted the conflicting parties to keep foreign forces and "mercenaries" on the fronts, which reduced the demand for these elements to leave the country.

Conflicting reports about the number of "mercenaries," whether they are affiliated with "Wagner" or pro-Turkish elements, claim about 20,000 fighters are in Libya.

Libyan affairs researcher Jalal Harchaoui said that Russia took control of four major military bases in Libya before February 24 and still controls them to date.

Harchaoui noted that there was no significant withdrawal of Russian personnel from Libya in the wake of the war in Ukraine, but only modest adjustments.

In a recent press interview, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov revealed that the authorities invited the Wagner Group to Tobruk on a "commercial basis."

It is believed that the Russian "mercenaries" entered Libya when the Libyan National Army (LNA), led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, waged war on Tripoli in April 2019.

However, Libya's Prime Minister-designate Fathi Bashagha said in an article in The Times that "since 2014, thousands of mercenaries from Wagner, a private military group close to Vladimir Putin, have been in my country."

Meanwhile, the Brigade 444 of the Defense Ministry arrested a man it believes is involved in the killing and kidnapping of several victims in the mass graves in Tarhuna.

The brigade disclosed that members of its forces arrested Hatem Ali Mohammed, involved with the notorious Kaniyat militia in cases of murder and kidnapping.

Mass graves suspected to hold hundreds of bodies began to unfold after the Kaniyat militia - also known as the 9th brigade of Haftar's forces.

During the past months, the brigade announced the arrest of several suspects accused of killing, kidnapping, banditry, human trafficking, and fuel smuggling.

Earlier, the Special Advisor to the Secretary-General on Libya (SASG), Stephanie Williams, visited Tarhuna accompanied by officials from the Public Prosecution Committee and the Criminal Investigations Department.

Williams said that the UN and international justice mechanisms had made significant efforts to investigate violations in Libya, including the mass graves in Tarhuna, adding that the UN will support the pursuit of justice, accountability, and an end to impunity so that the perpetrators do not go unpunished.



UN Rapporteur Calls for Global Action to Stop ‘Genocide’ in Gaza

 UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese speaks during a press conference following an Emergency Conference of States, hosted by Colombia and South Africa, to discuss measures against Israel in relation to the conflict in Gaza, in Bogota, Colombia, July 15, 2025. (Reuters)
UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese speaks during a press conference following an Emergency Conference of States, hosted by Colombia and South Africa, to discuss measures against Israel in relation to the conflict in Gaza, in Bogota, Colombia, July 15, 2025. (Reuters)
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UN Rapporteur Calls for Global Action to Stop ‘Genocide’ in Gaza

 UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese speaks during a press conference following an Emergency Conference of States, hosted by Colombia and South Africa, to discuss measures against Israel in relation to the conflict in Gaza, in Bogota, Colombia, July 15, 2025. (Reuters)
UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese speaks during a press conference following an Emergency Conference of States, hosted by Colombia and South Africa, to discuss measures against Israel in relation to the conflict in Gaza, in Bogota, Colombia, July 15, 2025. (Reuters)

The United Nations’ special rapporteur for Gaza and the West Bank said Tuesday that it's time for nations around the world to take concrete actions to stop what she called the “genocide” in Gaza.

Francesca Albanese spoke to delegates from 30 countries meeting in Colombia’s capital to discuss the Israel-Hamas war and ways that nations can try to stop Israel’s military offensive in the territory. Many of the participating nations have described the violence as genocide against the Palestinians.

“Each state must immediately review and suspend all ties with the State of Israel ... and ensure its private sector does the same,” Albanese said. “The Israeli economy is structured to sustain the occupation that has now turned genocidal.”

The two-day conference organized by the governments of Colombia and South Africa is being attended mostly by developing nations, although the governments of Spain, Ireland and China have also sent delegates.

Israel, which was founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust, has adamantly rejected genocide allegations against it as an antisemitic “blood libel.”

Analysts say it’s not clear whether the conference's participating countries have enough leverage over Israel to force it to change its policies in Gaza, where more than 58,000 people have been killed in Israeli military operations following a deadly Hamas attack on Israel in 2023. The death toll comes from the health ministry, which is under Gaza’s Hamas government and does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. The UN and other international organizations see its figures as the most reliable statistics on war casualties.

“The United States has so far failed to influence Israel’s behavior ... so it is naive to think that this group of countries can have any influence over (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu’s behavior or on the government of Israel,” said Sandra Borda, a professor of international relations at Bogota’s Los Andes University.

She said, however, that the conference will enable some nations of the Global South to clarify their position toward the conflict and have their voices heard.

The conference is co-chaired by the governments of South Africa and Colombia, which last year suspended coal exports to Israeli power plants, and includes the participation of members of The Hague Group, a coalition of eight nations that earlier this year pledged to cut military ties with Israel and to comply with an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against Netanyahu.

For decades, South Africa’s ruling African National Congress party has compared Israel’s policies in Gaza and the West Bank with its own history of oppression under the harsh apartheid regime of white minority rule, which restricted most Blacks to “homelands” before ending in 1994.

South Africa’s current argument is rooted in the sentiment that Palestinians have been oppressed in their homeland as Black South Africans were under apartheid.

The gathering comes as the European Union weighs various measures against Israel that include a ban on imports from Israeli settlements, an arms embargo and individual sanctions against Israeli officials, who are found to be blocking a peaceful solution to the conflict.

Colombia’s Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Mauricio Jaramillo said Monday that the nations participating in the Bogota meeting, which also include Qatar and Türkiye, will be discussing diplomatic and judicial measures that can be taken to put more pressure on Israel to cease its attacks.

The Colombian official described Israel’s conduct in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank as an affront to the international order.

“This is not just about Palestine” Jaramillo said in a press conference. “It is about defending international law... and the right to self-determination.”