Prosecutors in Libya have issued an arrest warrant for the son of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who has been identified as Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, over alleged ties to Russian mercenaries.
A BBC World Service investigation which has been obtained by Africa Daily News, New York had earlier revealed links between the shadowy Wagner group’s activities in Libya and war crimes committed against Libyan citizens.
Russian fighters first appeared in Libya in 2019 when they joined the forces of a rebel general, Khalifa Haftar, in attacking the UN-backed government in the capital Tripoli. The conflict ended in a ceasefire in October 2020.
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The Wagner group was first identified in 2014 when it was backing pro-Russian separatists in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Since then, it has been involved in regions including Syria, Mozambique, Sudan, and the Central African Republic.
The order for Saif al-Islam Gaddafi’s arrest was circulated internally to Libyan security bodies by prosecutor Mohammed Gharouda on 5 August, Africa Daily News, New York learnt.
Gaddafi has long been suspected of having connections to Russia.
Before the 2011 uprising, he was believed by some to represent the hope for gradual reform in Libya, which had been ruled by his father Muammar since 1969.
A fluent English speaker who studied at the prestigious London School of Economics, he was long seen as one of the most influential people in the country, and a likely successor to his father.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
