DISINFORMATION CASE DETAILS
- Outlet: akhbarak.net ( archive, original ) , albawaba.com ( original ) , albidda.net ( original ) , albousla.ps ( original ) , Al Minasa Press ( original ) , arabic.rt.com ( archive, original ) , dmcnews.org ( original ) , eltakrer.com ( archive, original ) , eshraag.com ( original ) , hadasnow.com ( original ) , iraqnews-in.com ( archive, original ) , kachaf.com ( original ) , nabd.com ( original ) , nabd.com ( original ) , rtarab.com ( original ) , sahafah24 ( original ) , sahafatak.net ( original )
- Date of publication: June 09, 2020
- Countries / regions discussed: Libya, Russia
DISINFO: News about Wagner in Libya distort Russian policy
SUMMARY
The news (which talk about the presence of private military “Wagner” personals in Libya and its support for the forces of Field Marshal Khalifa Hifter) is suspicious and was built on the basis of false information … and aims to distort Russian policy towards the Libyan path.
RESPONSE
A recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the Kremlin-linked mercenary group Wagner presence in Libya, trying to portray information as anti-Russian.
The Wagner Group is a private army with ties to the Kremlin and has been operating in Libya since October 2018, according to a report compiled by independent monitors for the UN's Libya sanctions committee. It is a mercenary outfit engaged in conflicts on the Kremlin’s behalf from Ukraine to Syria to the Central African Republic.
Bloomberg has reported that more than 100 Wagner contractors arrived in Libya in early September to assist General Khalifa Haftar’s offensive against the GNA in Tripoli that began in April.
A recent report by Reuters sheds light on the latest developments in Libya quoting a source saying that “Russians had now been flown out of western Libya to Jufra, a remote central district and LNA stronghold, in 3 military planes”.
For more information on the Wagner group, see our report on a Russian attempt to hide evidence of its existence and activities.