{"id":62669,"date":"2020-07-15T21:25:37","date_gmt":"2020-07-15T21:25:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/07\/15\/us-africa-command-russian-mercenaries-planted-land-mines-in-libya\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T13:08:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T13:08:11","slug":"us-africa-command-russian-mercenaries-planted-land-mines-in-libya","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2020\/07\/15\/us-africa-command-russian-mercenaries-planted-land-mines-in-libya\/","title":{"rendered":"US Africa Command: Russian mercenaries planted land mines in Libya"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">CAIRO \u2014 The U.S. military on Wednesday accused <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2019\/12\/06\/russian-mercenaries-backing-militia-commander-trying-to-capture-tripoli-libya-and-us-officials-say\/\" target=_blank>Russian mercenaries<\/a> fighting on the side of eastern Libya forces of planting land mines and improvised explosive devices in and around the Libyan capital, Tripoli. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The U.S. Africa Command, or AFRICOM, said verified photographic evidence shows \u201cindiscriminately placed booby traps and minefields\u201d around the outskirts of Tripoli and all the way east toward the strategic coastal city of Sirte since mid-June. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There was no immediate comment from Russia or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2019\/04\/04\/why-this-us-general-says-russian-wagner-mercenaries-in-africa-concern-me-greatly\/\" target=_blank>the Wagner Group<\/a>, a Kremlin-backed private security company that has been implicated in the conflict in the North African country. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2020\/05\/27\/top-russian-lawmaker-denies-that-military-sent-warplanes-to-libya\/\" target=_blank>Moscow has repeatedly denied<\/a> playing any role on Libya\u2019s battlefields. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">AFRICOM said it assessed that the Kremlin-backed company introduced the weapons into Libya. It posted photos of improvised explosive devices and a concealed anti-personnel mine, allegedly found in a residential area in Tripoli. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cImagery and intelligence assessments show how Russia continues to interfere in Libyan affairs. Wagner Group\u2019s reckless use of landmines and booby traps are harming innocent civilians,\u201d said Rear Adm. Heidi Berg, AFRICOM\u2019s director of intelligence. <\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2020\/05\/30\/us-africa-command-russian-jets-in-libya-present-broader-worries-for-region\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6220917.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">US Africa Command: Russian jets in Libya present broader worries for region<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">U.S. Africa Command flatly rejected Russian claims that Moscow did not deploy fighter jets to Libya, saying Friday that the 14 aircraft flown in reflect Russia\u2019s longer term goal to establish a foothold in the region that could threaten NATO allies.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Libya was plunged into chaos when a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 toppled longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi who was later killed. The country is now split between a government in the east, allied with military commander Khalifa Hifter, and one in Tripoli, in the west, supported by the United Nations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hifter\u2019s self-styled forces launched an offensive to capture Tripoli last year, clashing with militias loosely allied with the government there. Hifter is backed by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Russia, while the Tripoli forces are aided by Turkey, Qatar and Italy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the past three months, Hifter\u2019s forces have lost almost all areas taken in the offensive on Tripoli as Turkey stepped up military support for his rivals and brought Syrian mercenaries, including militants, to fight in Libya. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Last month, the U.S. military accused Moscow of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2020\/05\/26\/russian-aircraft-deploy-to-libya-to-back-private-military-contractors-africom-says\/\" target=_blank>deploying 14 Mig-29s fighters to Libya<\/a> to support Russian mercenaries aiding Hifter\u2019s forces. Russia called the claim \u201cdisinformation.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe Wagner Group\u2019s irresponsible tactics are prolonging conflict and are responsible for the needless suffering and the deaths of innocent civilians,\u201d said Marine Maj. Gen. Bradford Gering, director of operations at the U.S. Africa Command. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">U.N. experts have said the Wagner Group provided between 800-1,200 mercenaries to bolster Hifter\u2019s offensive on Tripoli, paying some fighters up to $1,500 a month. <\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2019\/08\/28\/libyas-civil-war-could-provide-oxygen-to-terrorist-offshoots-says-africom\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_1356.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Libya\u2019s civil war could provide \u2018oxygen\u2019 to terrorist offshoots, says US Africa Command<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">U.S. Africa Command spokesperson Air Force Col. Chris Karns said Libya\u2019s eight-year civil war could bolster terrorist groups harbored in the country, a warning that comes after AFRICOM\u2019s commander met with Libya\u2019s prime minister to discuss the conflict on Monday.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both sides in Libya\u2019s civil war have been mobilizing for weeks for battle for the city of Sirte. Hifter\u2019s forces took Sirte, Gadhafi\u2019s birthplace and a former stronghold of the Islamic State group, in January.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Retaking Sirte would give Tripoli forces a chance to gain control of oil fields and facilities in the south that Hifter had earlier seized. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Egypt, a Hifter ally, warned last month that an attack on Sirte would trigger an Egyptian military intervention, allegedly to protect Egypt\u2019s western border. Libya\u2019s east-based Parliament  has called on Egypt to send troops if Sirte is attacked.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The U.S. Africa Command said verified photographic evidence shows \u201cindiscriminately placed booby traps and minefields\u201d around the outskirts of Tripoli and all the way east toward the strategic coastal city of Sirte since mid-June.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":103287,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":8,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,8,23,93,12,25],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3073],"class_list":["post-62669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-flashpoints","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"CD7DE2YSVBFFDDHHK4DDPX3LEE","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-military\/2020\/07\/15\/us-africa-command-russian-mercenaries-planted-land-mines-in-libya\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>US Africa Command: Russian mercenaries planted land mines in Libya - Marine Corps Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The U.S. Africa Command said verified photographic evidence shows \u201cindiscriminately placed booby traps and minefields\u201d around the outskirts of Tripoli and all the way east toward the strategic coastal city of Sirte since mid-June.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"US Africa Command: Russian mercenaries planted land mines in Libya\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The U.S. Africa Command said verified photographic evidence shows \u201cindiscriminately placed booby traps and minefields\u201d around the outskirts of Tripoli and all the way east toward the strategic coastal city of Sirte since mid-June.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2020\/07\/15\/us-africa-command-russian-mercenaries-planted-land-mines-in-libya\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Marine Corps Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-07-15T21:25:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T13:08:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Samy Magdy, The Associated Press\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Samy Magdy, The Associated Press\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 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