The United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM) has about 5,100 troops deployed in the African continent, which the Pentagon officials have been contemplating on cutting down for most of 2020. However, the rising interference by foreign nations favoring their own conflict of interest in the region has not only brought destruction in Libya, but also made the decision of cutting down troops a difficult one. The IG of US Defense Department reported that the UAE funds Russian mercenaries in Libya belonging to the Wagner Group, in an explosive report on counter terrorism measures in the African continent. The discovery was made at the time when UAE aimed to buy advanced weaponry worth billions of dollars from the departing Trump administration.
UAE Funds Russian Mercenaries in Libya
In the summer of 2020, US intelligence report indicated that the UAE funds Russian mercenaries operating in Libya. By the beginning of winter 2020, it was confirmed through the inspector general’s report that one of US’ closest Arab ally had been financing about 4,000 Kremlin-controlled private soldiers in Libyan operations of Wagner Group, a sanctioned Russian mercenary group.
Russia tactically and politically uses the private security firm in conflicts or regions it cannot deploy its own soldiers, yet protecting its conflict of interest.
The UAE and Wagner forces intervened the Libyan civil war in support of general Khalifa Haftar, whose army has been accused of committing multiple counts of war crimes. The coalition and alliance between UAE and Russian mercenaries had long been suspected by experts observing Libya and its war. However, the IG’s report is by far the only official confirmation of the fact that UAE funds Russian mercenaries in Libya to obscure its own involvement in the Libya war.
The Wagner group’s politically destabilizing role in the Libya war has raised concerns in the past regarding the Kremlin’s use of the conflict as a means of spreading its dominance away from the European shores. It would have been far easier for the US to hold an already sanctioned Wagner Group responsible for the breach of UN arms of embargo and humanitarian law in Libya. However, the equation complicated on the discovery of UAE funding Russian mercenaries was made. UAE has been one of the closest allies of the United States, which brokered for it a peace deal with Israel, normalizing ties between the two nations. Yet UAE Libya mercenaries funding disclosure comes as a betrayal to the United Nations, which has an arms embargo placed in Libya and the EU’s IRINI mission.
Well-timed Discovery, NOT
Reporting the financial ties that the UAE shares with the Russian Wagner Group came at a wrong time for the Gulf nation. The departing Trump administration has been trying hard to finalize the $23 billion F-35 fighter jet sale to Abu Dhabi, against the objection raised by Israel as well as the Democrats. However, with the recent findings, the Democrats have only found further ground to their claims of the threat that emerges with selling advanced and sophisticated military technology to the UAE.
Before discovering UAE as the prime funding source of Russia’s Wagner group — a network of private military contracting companies — the firm was thought to be financed by a Russian businessman having close ties to President Vladimir Putin — Yevgeny Prigozhin. Prigozhin was named “Putin’s chef” in an Associated Press’ release for the chain of restaurants and catering businesses owned by Prigozhin that hosted Putin’s dinners with foreign dignitaries. Prigozhin was lately sanctioned by the European Union for ties with the Wagner Group. Meanwhile, “Putin’s chef” has also been photographed with the renegade general of Libya, Khalifa Haftar, in 2019. Prigozhin is also sanctioned by the United States for interference of his online troll army in the 2016 Presidential election.
Successfully enough, the UAE’s role in Libya’s civil war has received relatively lesser scrutiny as compared to that of Russia, despite it being one of the most significant backers of the Haftar forces. The obscurity gained by UAE in Libya has been credited to its lobbying efforts in the Washington and role in US’ foreign policy objectives such as, pressure campaign on Iran, peace deal with Israel — considered a rare foreign policy success of the Trump administration.
The Berlin conference on Libya was an event that saw the coming together of all warring parties pledging to bring peace in the Northern African country. Despite UAE and Russia being present at the peace conference, offensive by the respective nations continued in Libya virtually, via cargo planes filled by weapons and military equipment sent by both nations in large numbers to the eastern Libya — controlled by Haftar forces — and Egypt.
Haftar, who is now a Libyan strongman has been an asset of the CIA and lived for years in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.
Douglas Wise, the former deputy director of the Defense Intelligence Agency 2014–2016 said, “I would imagine DIA has some good information on the UAE’s support to Wagner.” “Having DIA issue this would be an easy and less formal and embarrassing way to chide the UAE on their behavior than a diplomatic note or a press release from DoD or the White House. It lets the UAE know that we know,” he added.
The Turning Point
The point where the US intelligence knew that UAE funds Russian mercenaries from Wagner group, was when the increase of Russian presence in the North African country coincided with the reduction of Emirati forces. The incoming cargo shipments began increasing with more and more Turkish troops entering the country, while UAE recalled its equipment from the al-Khadim airbase. According to Libyan expert and military analyst, Joseph Dempsey, “at least 12 MiG-29 multi-role fighter jets and Su-24 front-line bombers” showed a largescale increase in the air force strength of the Haftar-allied forces. As per observers, Libyan flag was printed on two of the recently shown Su-24 fighter jets during military maneuver by Khalifa Haftar.
The European Union, at present, holds significant rights to impose additional sanctions against individuals and entities found disrupting the peace process in Libya or breaching the arms embargo imposed by the United Nations in the Northern African country.
With its documented and evidential support to the Russian interference, the United Arab Emirates and involved entities could be sanctioned under EU’s IRINI mission. UAE Russian mercenaries funding took place alongside the supply of weapons and military equipment to the sanctioned private soldiers.
