Jul 24, 2020The US military has released new aerial surveillance images purporting to show additional Russian military equipment in Libya in the latest sign the Kremlin may be gearing up to help Gen. Khalifa Hifter defend the strategic city of Sirte. The US Africa Command published photos today purporting to show Russian military planes and anti-aircraft vehicles at eastern Libya’s Khadim air base. AFRICOM also published photos of what it said were Russian armored vehicles near Sirte, which faces a looming offensive by Libya’s UN-recognized Government of National Accord. Those flights can carry personnel, equipment, and supplies,” Col. Christopher Karns, an AFRICOM spokesperson, told Al-Monitor via email earlier this month. “Libya is a place where Russia will continue to act, seek access, and try to gain a strategic foothold in pursuit of oil or a geographic position on NATO’s southern flank,” Karns wrote.

Source: Libya Today July 24, 2020 23:37 UTC