Libyen

Russia recently sent fighter jets to Libya to support Russian mercenaries fighting for strongman Khalifa Haftar, the U.S. military command for Africa (Africom) said Tuesday, in a major escalation in the long-running conflict.

Eastern commander Khalifa Haftar is reported to be about to begin a series of air strikes on Turkish targets in Libya after suffering a week of setbacks in his fight against the Ankara-backed government in Tripoli.

The civil war in Libya is in danger of intensifying as foreign intervention grows and the spectre of the COVID-19 pandemic adds to a deepening sense of insecurity, the head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) told the Security Council on Tuesday.

[…] Following a relative reduction in fighting in the immediate aftermath of the truce of 12 January called for by the Presidents of the Russian Federation and Turkey and accepted by the Government of National Accord and the Libyan National Army, fighting gradually resumed. Both parties redeployed forces along the front lines in the Tripoli area. As at 21 April, more than 850 reported breaches of the ceasefire had been recorded by UNSMIL, … .

The EU on Tuesday demanded an end to fighting in Libya and said it was "determined" to enforce a UN arms embargo on the oil-rich but wartorn state.

The Turkish government said it would consider forces loyal to general Khalifa Haftar "legitimate targets" if they didn't stop attacks on diplomatic missions. The UN has warned that Haftar's may have committed war crimes.

The UN Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has condemned several recent attacks on civilian areas of the Libyan Capital, Tripoli, which have reportedly caused deaths and injuries.

Hundreds of mercenaries from Russia's shadowy Wagner Group are operating in Libya, a leaked UN report says. They have been supporting renegade general Khalifa Haftar's battle against the Tripoli-based government, it says.

[…] Stephane Dujarric, a spokesperson for the Secretary-General said, “This is the message that we always urge and this is very important.”

The EU must seize on the strategic opportunity presented by the coronavirus pandemic to take the initiative away from Russia and Turkey in Libya.