By Sami Zaptia.
London, 3 November 2020:
A report by Human Rights Watch published on Sunday (1 October) reports that Sudanese security guards were deceived by the UAE into working in Libya.
The report says Sudanese nationals expecting civilian security jobs in the UAE were unwittingly transferred to Libya to ostensibly fight in its internal conflict on the Khalifa Hafter side. The UAE supports Hafter.
The HRW report explained: ‘‘In Libya, the UAE is one of three countries that have routinely and systematically violated a 2011 United Nations arms embargo, according to UN experts’ reports. The UAE supplies weapons and ammunition to General Hiftar’s armed group, has a forward operating base in eastern Libya, and operates armed drones in support of General Hiftar. Since April 2019, it has conducted more than 850 drone and jet strikes on the general’s behalf, killing scores of people. Foreign fighters from Sudan and Chad, fighters from a private security company affiliated with Russia’s Kremlin, and Syrian fighters backed by Russia also reportedly support General Hiftar’s armed group. According to the Sudan Panel of Experts report, in 2019, Darfurian rebel groups significantly increased their military capability in Libya, including in the oil crescent area to support the LAAF with large scale recruitment and acquisition of equipment.’’
You can read the full report here.
