Italian news agency Nova has said that Russia is expanding its military presence in Libya by transferring soldiers and equipment to the Maaten Al Sarra base, on the border with Chad and Sudan.
Nova reported via well-informed Libyan sources that this air base, which is located in a strategic position and used during the Libyan-Chadian war of the 1980s, is now at the center of a major Russian operation to strengthen control over the Sahel region, an area increasingly at the center of Moscow’s geopolitical interests.
In December 2024, the Russian Federation sent a group of Syrian soldiers to re-establish the base, with the aim of transforming it into a strategic point for military operations in Africa, from which to directly supply Mali, Burkina Faso and, potentially, Sudan. This marks a new phase in Russian expansion on the African continent, after the loss of its positions in Syria following the fall of the regime of Bashar al Assad.
According to the Italian agency, the forces fleeing from the Syrian army, affiliated with the Bashar al-Assad regime, began cooperating with Russian technicians to re-operate the base and restore infrastructure such as runways and warehouses. The base is set to become a major logistics center for Russian operations in Africa and an important center for the flow of supplies to other areas on the coast.
The agency pointed to another important aspect of the Russian operation in Libya, which is the increasing contact with tribal communities in southern Libya, and the Russians’ ability to form alliances with local tribes, considering these developments a new stage in Russian expansion in the African continent, after losing their positions in Syria following the fall of Assad regime.
According to the agency, a military convoy from the Tariq bin Ziyad Battalion, affiliated with Saddam Haftar, recently headed toward Al-Sara base to secure the area and protect the roads leading to Sudan. It confirmed that Moscow distanced itself from the Rapid Support Forces, led by Hemedti, and developed closer relations with Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, the commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces.
Russia has strengthened its operations at its four main air bases (Al-Khadim in the east of Libya, Al-Jufra in the center, Brak Al-Shati southwest of Sabha, the capital of the south, and Al-Qardabiya in Sirte in the central region)
By @TheLibya Observer
