Russia Prevents U.S. from Conducting Special Operations in Libya - State Department and Pentagon

Inspectors General of the State Department and the U.S. Department of Defense have prepared a report on the situation in North and West Africa from October to the end of December 2019. This document was published on February 11, 2020, writes the newspaper View. It claims that Russia's presence in Libya hinders special operations by the United States. The literal quote is this: The Russian presence in Libya is increasing and is a challenge to U.S. counter-terrorism operations. The report states, inter alia, that the disappearance of an American unmanned aerial vehicle in the sky over Libya's capital Tripoli at the end of November 2019 is allegedly related to the actions of Russian forces. The authors of the document also claim that as of September 2019 there were about two hundred fighters of Russian private military companies in Libya, and by the end of 2019 between 600 and 1,200 more employees of Russian PMK arrived in Libya. Thus, Russia is increasing its military presence. The report notes that the Pentagon is conducting counter-terrorism operations in coordination with the Libyan Government of National Accord (PNA), which is recognized by the United Nations. Russia, in turn, denies its military intervention in Libya, as well as its alleged destabilizing role in resolving the situation in that country.