In a new scandal showing sources of funding for Hifter’s aggression against Tripoli, the French newspaper “Le Monde” revealed Saudi Arabia’s financing of the operations of the Russian company “Wagner” in Libya in support of Hifter in order to achieve his dream of controlling the capital.
The Saudi role in the aggresion is not hidden, as Hifter visited Riyadh before his hostility last April, and met King Salman and his crown prince to finance his campaign on the capital, according to a report published by the American “CNN” Agency last May, and It talked about Saudi funding Haftar with about 200 Million dollars to start his adventure to take over the capital.
The “Wagner” group is the most famous Russian security company, and hundreds of Russian mercenaries are operating under its banner, and according to press reports, it carries out what is described as “dirty” operations in various conflict areas.
Wagner’s crimes in Libya
The killing of Ambais family in Asbaya south of Tripoli is the ugliest and dirtiest crimes committed by the “Wagner” group against civilians.
Mohamed Ambais, the only survivor of the killing, recounted, in a video, how Russian mercenaries killed two of his brothers and son-in-law and amputated his brother’s leg before he could escape.
American confirmation
David Schenker, US Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs, said last November that Russia was deploying forces in large numbers to support Khalifa Hifter.
William Lawrence, a former official for the North Africa dossier at the US State Department, said the number of Russian mercenaries in Libya had doubled from 200 to 1,400.
Putin’s confession
Then came the admission by Russian President Vladimir Putin of the presence of Russian mercenaries on Libyan soil, while denying that they were linked to the Russian state, when he said, in a press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, that there were Russian citizens in Libya, but that they do not represent the Russian state and do not receive any money from the government.
Saudi practices confirm the news
Libyan writer Mohamed Ghemim said that the practices followed by Saudi Arabia inside and outside its territories confirm that Saudi Arabia will not hesitate to support any activity that ends the Arab Spring revolutions, despite the absence of any comment from the Saudi state denying or confirming the news.
Ghemim added, in a statement to Arraed, that Saudi Arabia and other countries have established an alliance to fight and eliminate the revolutions of the Arab Spring, and we have seen them in more than one station lining up with other countries such as the UAE and Egypt to achieve this endeavor, and therefore this stance is not surprising.
And Ghemim added that Saudi Arabia did not stand with Haftar with money or relations only, but rather by embracing “Almodalkhla orientation”, which is a micro intelligence apparatus that is poisoning the nation’s body with poisoned ideas, and as a result of this there is more than one battalion following this orientation fighting with Hifter in its aggression against the capital.
Ghemim believes that the danger of this trend that Saudi Arabia nurtures intellectually and financially lies in spreading a misleading culture that is incorrect from an authentic concept in Islamic law which is obedience to the guardian; the advocates of this stream strip this concept of its legal controls that stipulate that the ruler must be chosen by the people and with their consent He says.
Political illusion
The writer Ali Abu Zaid saw that Saudi Arabia is living in a state of political illusion, as it believes that this aggressive behavior with the people of the region will dominate the Arab and Islamic decision, which events proved difficult to achieve in the region after its involvement in Yemen and tarnishing of its its reputation with the assassination of Khashoggi.
Abu Zaid added, in a statement to Arraed, that Libya will be a new quagmire for swallowing Saudi money to achieve the rotten illusions of Ibn Salman and his attempts to finance military terrorism against people, which has become a clear line in Saudi behavior.
Abu Zaid said that the “Le Monde” report reminds us of the CNN report, which spoke about the role of Saudi Arabia in the aggression against Tripoli, and it was they who gave Hifter the green light to start his attack, funded it, and promised him political support by using its lobbies in Washington.
Damaging role
As for the writer Abdullah Al-Kabeer, it is not surprising that Saudi Arabia funded any activities that prevent the realization of the change brought about by the February revolution. She had previously received Hifter at the highest levels a few days before his invasion of Tripoli, and this stance was interpreted at the time as Hifter’s support and encouragement to invade Tripoli.
Al-Kabeer added, in a statement to Arraed, that this is the invisible damaging role of Saudi Arabia in Libya, as it is known that the Saudi stance is hostile to the Arab Spring revolutions.
It is highly likely that the time of publication of this report was not related to the French government, he thought, because the newspaper “Le Monde” is independent, deep-rooted and highly credible, and the French government has no influence on it, adding that Saudi Arabia will not care about the matter and perhaps will not comment on it at all.
Observers are unanimous in anticipating the satnce of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in support of Hifter is proportional with its policies after Mohamed bin Salman took office as crown prince, and he is known for his great hostility to the Arab Spring revolutions and his efforts to eliminate them, for fear that the spark of these revolutions will spread in the Gulf region, and for this Saudi Arabia found in Hifter the right man, who is fond of the chair and steeped in the illusions of totalitarian rule, who wants to return Libya to the era of Gaddafi – but his continued failure on the walls of Tripoli may change a lot in the equations for these countries, especially since Libya has no land borders with them, nor does it pose a threat to its rulers as suspected by rulers of these governments.
