A UN expert assures that there are fewer foreign mercenaries in Libya due to the war in Ukraine

(DPA/EP)

The number of foreign mercenaries in Libya has decreased due to the war in Ukraine because “a market has been found elsewhere”, according to a UN expert.

The Zambian-British jurist collecting evidence of rights violations in Libya as part of a group of experts commissioned by the UN Human Rights Council, Chaloka Beyani, has claimed that the number of Russian Wagner group mercenaries has also decreased.

The private security company is considered a shadow army of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has denied having links to this force.

According to British intelligence services, Moscow was most likely forced to prioritize Wagner’s personnel for the invasion of Ukraine to the detriment of operations in Africa and Syria.

However, not all foreign fighters have withdrawn from Libya, according to the report submitted by Beyani and his team. The mercenaries were prolonging the conflict in the country and could have ignored international norms to protect civilians.

After a brief period of relative calm after years of open clashes over the death of Muammar Gaddafi, the country is again divided into two administrations.