The Independent newspaper revealed the presence of 1,200 Russian mercenaries, 2,000 Syrians and 1,000 Sudanese in the ranks of Haftar militias, and the role of the Russian “Wagner” company in recruiting the Syrians and sending them to Haftar.
In a report published on its official website on Tuesday, the newspaper indicated that, according to a month-long investigation, it was found that the recruitment of Syrian mercenaries for Haftar ran from Moscow to Damascus.
The newspaper said that the UN mission was preparing for a conference in which all parties gathered in the city of Ghadames, but Haftar made an attempt described it as “disastrous” to control Tripoli, and instead of sitting at the table, he sent his Russian-backed fighters and Emirati drones to control the capital, pointing out that The Russian company “Wagner” has become a source of money without borders, and Haftar started his war with Chinese drones “Winglong”, military fighters, and Russian missile systems “Pantsir” provided by the Emirates.
The newspaper added that recently the frequency of the recruitment of Syrian mercenaries into the Syrian regime’s areas increased for Haftar, and that the Kremlin sent people working in security contracting companies to Daraa, Duma and Asuwayda, and 33 trips of the “Wings of Cham” company arrived from Damascus to Benghazi, carrying Syrian fighters.
According to the investigation, Russian men came at the beginning of this year to “Douma” and offered $ 800 per month for each one with the possibility of increasing the value, and from Douma to pockets in the “Asuwayda” where the Druze community lives and from there to “Daraa” near the Jordan border.
The newspaper emphasized that it was easy to persuade the Syrians in “Daraa” to fight alongside Haftar, especially since they were former opposition fighters and were subject to harassment by the regime and after reconciliation, the security services are still restricting their movement, so they agreed either because the money is good or because it is an opportunity to escape.
The newspaper stated that the balance of the war in Libya changed after Turkey supported the country with its drones “Bayrakdar TP2”, the air defense system “Korekit” and 3 frigates, and secured air protection for the capital, Tripoli and Misurata, and achieved victories on the ground; Haftar’s supporters started searching for Syrian fighters, and the parallel government opened an embassy in Damascus, which announced its intention to confront Turkey with the support of the internationally isolated President Bashar al-Assad.
“The Independent” quoted “Imran Al-Masalmeh,” an activist from the city of Daraa, that the “Wagner” company had not only promised 1,200 fighters, but to stop the regime’s harassment of them, and told them that their mission is to secure the oil fields and facilities of the Russians, as I quoted residents in the south of Libya that they They saw Sudanese mercenaries on the pickup trucks passing through the city of Murzuq on their way to support the Haftar militia in several axes.
The newspaper disclosed that the attempts to recruit in the south of “Hama”, “Deir Al-Zour” and “Homs” continued even after Haftar lost the base of Alwittia at the hands of the army, noting that there were “ongoing differences in the military bases of Haftar who were not listening to advice, especially From foreign advisers, ”adding that Haftar and the militias with him“ did not know the rules of modern war; This is why their differences with the Wagner mercenaries have increased, “according to the newspaper.
The “Independent” pointed out that “Wagner” appeared in Libya for the first time in 2018, and their task was to repair vehicles, most of them groups called “Blackwater Russia”, explaining that Wagner is a name that brings together a number of private security companies that have relations with the Russian Ministry of Defense Assuring that the UN investigators have indicated that they have been in western Libya since September 2019 with Haftar.
The newspaper stated that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Abu Dhabi of financing “Wagner” in Libya, as United Nations investigators accused the UAE of providing material support for Haftar, and the Committee of Experts revealed in 2017 that the UAE sent drones, armored vehicles and military helicopters to Haftar.
The newspaper saw that Haftar’s supporters had concluded that controlling Tripoli was not an easy matter, and that placing a mix of “security contractors” would not lead Haftar to victory, according to the newspaper’s expression.
