Warring Libya parties ‘violated United Nations arms embargo’

THE warring parties in Libya and their international backers – the United Arab Emirates, Russia and Jordan vs Turkey and Qatar – violated a UN arms embargo on the oil-rich north African country that remains “totally ineffective”.This was according to UN experts in a new report.

The panel of experts monitoring sanctions against Libya said in the report seen on Tuesday that 11 companies also violated the arms embargo including the Wagner Group, a private Russian security company the panel said in May provided between 800 and 1 200 mercenaries to support eastern Libya’s rebel commander, Khalifa Hifter.

Also, the panel of experts said the warring parties and their international backers, along with Egypt and Syria, failed to inspect aircraft or vessels or both if they had reasonable grounds to believe the cargo contained military weapons and ammunition.

“The panel considers that details in letters to certain member states, together with extensive media coverage, provides sufficient information for them to have reasonable grounds for inspection,” the report said.

The new report follows a warning last week from the top UN official for Libya that the oil-rich country is at “a decisive turning point”.

Libya was plunged into chaos when a Nato-backed uprising in 2011 toppled long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was later killed.

The county has since split between rival east- and west-based administrations, each backed by armed groups.

Eastern military commander Hifter launched an offensive in April last year trying to capture the capital of Tripoli. But Hifter’s campaign collapsed in June when militias backing the UN-supported government in Tripoli, with Turkish support, gained the upper hand, driving his forces from the outskirts of the capital and other western towns.

The panel said the UAE deployed military personnel and transferred at least five types of military equipment into Libya including armoured personnel carriers and patrol vehicles and a French Dassault Mirage 2000-9 jet fighter.

The panel of experts said the resupply of both sides by air was extensive,, with flights from the UAE to western Egypt and eastern Libya, and from Russia via Syria to eastern Libya to reinforce Hifter’s forces – and from Turkey to western Libya to reinforce the government.

As for shipments by sea, the panel confirmed that five vessels destined for government ports flying flags of Albania, Lebanon, Tanzania and Panama were in “non-compliance” with the arms embargo along with two destined for Hifter’s eastern ports. One flying a Liberian flag has a UAE owner and the other flying a Bahamas flag has a Japanese owner, it said.

UN missions of the UAE, Russia, Jordan, Egypt, Syria and Qatar did not respond after requests for comment.

A spokesperson for Turkey’s UN Mission wouldn’t comment on the report but said it had co-operated with the UN-recognised government and supported the work of UN envoy Williams and the panel of experts.

“Allegations regarding any violation by Turkey of sanctions are baseless,” said the spokesperson, who wished to remain anonymous.