At the end of February, the US military command in Africa conducted air exercises near the Libyan city of Syrt. There is one of the bases of Russian military formation Wagner Group. According to the Italian press agency Agenzia Nova, Washington sent Moscow a signal that he did not agree to strengthen Russian influence in the North African country.
Libyan officers from both the east and west of the divided country participated in the maneuvers. Together with the Americans, they simulated missions using two B-52H StratoFortress aircraft from the 2nd Bomb Regiment, Barksdale Air Force Basters in Louisiana.
The presence of American strategic aircraft over Libya He proves that both the US and Russia strengthen their influence in this North African country, crucial for the control of the Mediterranean and African Sahel.
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Russia's presence in Libya
Russia has been present in the central and eastern regions of Libya under the control of Marshal Chalifa Haftar for years. Despite the growing pressure from the US, Moscow consolidated her military infrastructure in Eastern Libya, to which she transported advanced air defense systems from lost Syrian bases, including S-400. Its mercenaries are deployed in several Libyan bases.
United States They try to reduce the Russian influence on an embroidery, which in the times of the dictatorship of Muammar Gaddafi collaborated with Wagon. Washington is trying to convince the Libyan marshal to think about the alliance with Moscow, offering his forces to conduct military missions together with Western Libyan forces, for example, monitoring borders with Sahel countries.
“The US goal is clear: protect the Libyan oil infrastructure against Russian influence and create a barrier against the penetration of the region by Moscow,” commented Italian Agenzia Nova, a quoting Musa Musa, a member of the Libyan high council. He said that North Africa “may soon be in the center of new tensions and that Libya is risking that he would become a theater of an increasingly fierce confrontation between two superpowers.”
Divided state
Libya still remains divided between the international government of the National Agreement (GNA) in Tripoli and the Libyan National Army (LNA) Haftar, which controls the East. This division allows external powers, including Russia, Turkey and the United States use the country's instability to implement their own regional plans.
Source of the main photo: PAP/Newscom