Russia has deployed 1,800 soldiers to eastern Libya in what it expects will become a base of power to exercise influence in other parts of the continent. Some of those deployed were Russian soldiers, and others were mercenaries with Russia’s Africa Corps, still widely recognised by its ex-name, the Wagner Group.
The deployment came after a bunch of Russian ships delivered thousands of tons of ammunition and military equipment at the eastern port of Tobruk in April. Both occasions came after discussions between Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, the Wagner Group’s new chief Gen. Andrei Averyanov, and Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the head of the eastern-based Libyan National Army.
Before the recent inflow of mercenaries, analysts calculated that Wagner had about 2,000 fighters on the land in Libya. Wagner penetrated Libya in 2018 to support Haftar in the civil war that came after the collapse of dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. Wagner was expended for its services with Libyan oil. According to the Arabic Post, the latest mercenaries are the vanguard of 45,000 Russian forces anticipated to deploy to Libya as Russia hopes to boost its presence on the continent.
The Wagner Group’s transition from covert operations to a pronounced military position aligns with Russia’s broader purposes of controlling strategic resources and critical geographic areas. Libya supplies Russia with a crucial bridge between its Mediterranean processes based in Syria and Wagner forces working in Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic (CAR), Mali, Niger and Sudan. Among other things, Wagner’s Africa functions provide Russia with diamonds, gold and oil that it employs to finance its war with Ukraine.
In April, Russian aircraft hauled fighters from Libya to Niger, where the junta has knocked a deal with Wagner. Wagner and Russian parties control Libyan air bases near Sirte, al-Jufra and Brak al-Shati, from which they move stockpiles between allies in Sudan and other Sub-Saharan regions. They are moving for docking rights in Tobruk, from which they can develop their naval presence in the Mediterranean.
A compound on the air base also seems to host fighters recruited from Russia and Syria. Wagner warriors used al-Khadim as a hub to provide weapons to Haftar’s allies with Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) shortly after the war busted out between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces in 2023. Russia is expanding its presence in Libya at the same time the country’s split leadership is struggling to find a method to bring the country back together.
From 2011 to 2021, Libya was divided between the internationally recognized Government of
National Accord in the capital, Tripoli, and a rival administration based in Tobruk. Since 2021, the Government of National Unity has aimed to reunite and stabilize the country. Wagner’s persistent presence likely makes that impossible.
