U.S. warns of Russian bid for Libya stronghold after warplane delivery

The U.S. military believes Russia's deployment of warplanes in Libya may not tip the balance in its stalemated civil war but could further help Moscow eventually secure a geostrategic stronghold in North Africa, a U.S. general said on Friday.

Russian military personnel have delivered 14 MiG 29 and Su-24 fighter jets to the Jufra air base controlled by the Libyan National Army (LNA), the U.S. military says, despite denials from the LNA and a Russian member of parliament.

U.S. Brigadier General Gregory Hadfield, deputy director of U.S. Africa Command's Intelligence Directorate, told a small group of reporters the military aircraft' flight path originated in Russia and passed through Iran and Syria before reaching Libya.

Libyan National Army (LNA) shows Yevgeny Prigozhin (2nd R) attends a meeting Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Gen. Valery Gerasimov, chief of staff of Russia's armed with Libyan National Army head Khalifa Hifter, in Moscow, Russia, Nov. 7, 2018. /AP

Hadfield said the aircraft had not been used yet since then but could add new capability for eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar's LNA, which has so far failed in its year-long effort to capture Tripoli, the Libyan capital, where the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) is based.

The GNA, in turn, has been receiving critical support from Turkey, including drone strikes. But Hadfield cautioned that Moscow may not require an outright victory for Haftar to advance Russian interests.

"Backing the LNA and backing Field Marshal Haftar, it really isn't about winning the war, it's about developing strongholds," Hadfield said.

A big U.S. concern would be if Moscow used such a location to stage missiles.

A fighter is shot at the Salah-addin neighborhood front line, in Tripoli, Libya, September 7, 2019. /AP

"If Russia secures a permanent position in Libya and, worse, deploys long-range missile systems, it will be a game changer for Europe, NATO and many Western nations," he said.

Libya is once more on the brink after years of chaos that followed the natiowide protest in 2011, that ended in the fall and eventual death of the country's former leader Muammar Gaddafi. With more arms and fighters flowing in, Libyans fear the seemingly unending conflict has been continuously fueled by outside powers.

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Source(s): Reuters