Libyan Prime Minister, Abdulhamid Dbeibah has expressed concerns that the North African country could become a battlefield following reports of Russian weapon transfers from Syria after Bashar al-Assad’s fall.
Prime Minister Dbeibah who expressed his concern at a news conference, said no patriotic Libyan wants a foreign power to come and impose its hegemony and authority over the country and the people.
Oil-rich Libya has struggled to recover from years of conflict since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that ended Muammar Gaddafi’s four-decade rule.
It remains divided between the UN-recognised government in Tripoli and a rival administration in the east, backed by military leader Khalifa Haftar.
In recent days reported indicated Russian forces were transferring military equipment from Syria’s Tartus naval base and Hmeimim air base to eastern Libya, where the rival administration has received Russian support for years.
While Dbeibah did not confirm the weapon transfers, Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto has said that “Moscow is transferring resources from its Syrian base in Tartus to Libya.
