Russian mercenaries start leaving Libya
Fighters of the Russian private military company Wagner arrived at Bani Waled airfield in Libya. The video published on Thursday, May 28, by the Telegram channel "Military Informant" shows vehicles loaded with equipment entering the airfield. The Wagner fighters can be seen near the cargo plane. Presumably, they are leaving the country. As the Military Informant notes, it is not known at this time whether all troops will be withdrawn from Libya or whether it is a rotation of the personnel.
Earlier, fighters of a Russian private military company were spotted near the Libyan city of al Qurayyat, as well as in Bani Waled. The photos published on the network show armored vehicles Tiger - SBM VPC-233136 (five-door), which were supplied only to Uruguay and Uzbekistan.
Earlier, it was reported that Russian mercenaries withdrew from western Libya.
According to Colonel Mohammad Kununu, a spokesman for the Libyan government forces, more than one and a half thousand fighters left western Libya.
According to him, the Russian mercenaries were fighting on the side of Libyan National Army under the command of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar against the Libyan government forces in the area of Tripoli. Some time ago up to 1.6 thousand of them left the war zone. They departed from Bani Walid Airport on two military transport planes. Kununu added that the new location of the Wagner fighters is not yet known.
The Turkish news agency Anadolu reported that Libyan government forces forced mercenaries to leave the Hamza, Yarmouk and Al-Savarih military bases in the Tripoli area, as well as the strategically important Al-Watiya Air Base in the west of the country, which for years served as a staging ground for airstrikes on Tripoli.
In 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russian private military companies, including Wagner, could operate wherever they want, if they do not violate Russian laws.