Russian President Vladimir Putin has been forced to rebuff claims he is not backing Libyan strongman Khalifa Hifter who has ordered his forces to march on the country’s capital in definance of a UN truce.
The rebel leader, who controls the eastern-based Libyan National Army, is charging toward Tripoli with a 85,000 strong force to challenge the internationally recognized government.
Intelligence chiefs in the West have repeatedly warned how Putin wants to make the war-torn North African country “his new Syria”.
To do this, some observers are speculating that Hifter is being backed with Russian military hardware and cash.
Already the controversial Russian private military company the Wagner Group has outposts in the country.
It is the latest stage of a four-day offensive by Haftar’s force, which backs a rival administration in the east, against the home of the internationally-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA).
It has so far claimed 21 lives.
The airstrikes have prompted a ‘Volcano Of Rage’ counter-offensive by the GNA, with a spokesman claiming advancing government forces had already captured several of Hafter’s armored vehicles.
Hifter has ordered his forces to march on Tripoli, the seat of Libya’s UN-backed government, sparking fears of a major showdown with rival militias.
In another sign of the situation worsening on the ground, a contingent of US forces evacuated the country for security reasons.
The offensive has taken the UN by surprise, undermining plan to find agreement on a path to elections to resolve the protracted instability in Libya.
Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov insisted the Kremlin was not secretly meddling.
Asked if Russia was supporting Hifter, he said: “No, Moscow isn’t involved in that in any way.”
Chaos in Libya.
Italy’s interior minister, Matteo Salvini, said “the balance of the entire Mediterranean is at stake”.
Salvini told reporters on the sidelines of a G-7 meeting in France today that he’s “very worried about Libya”.
He told his G-7 allies: “We need to throw water on the fire and not gasoline.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres who completed his two day visit today said he was leaving Libya with “heavy heart and deep concern”.
He said: “I still hope if possible to avoid armed confrontation around Tripoli.
“The United Nations remains available to facilitate any political solution.”
The developments signified a serious escalation of the conflict in Libya that has dragged on since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
Libya has been divided between the internationally recognized government in Tripoli and a parallel administration allied to Haftar since Gaddafi’s downfall.