Libyan fighters with holes in head prove existence of Russian snipers fighting for Haftar’s forces in Tripoli, report says

The New York Times has revealed that the casualties at Al-Aziziya field hospital south of Tripoli used to arrive with gaping wounds and shattered limbs, victims of the haphazard artillery fire that has defined battles among Libyan warring factions, explaining that currently medics say they are seeing something new: narrow holes in a head or a torso left by bullets that kill instantly and never exit the body.

“It is the work, Libyan fighters say, of Russian mercenaries, including skilled snipers. The lack of an exit wound is a signature of the ammunition used by the same Russian mercenaries elsewhere.” The New York Times added in a report published on Tuesday.

The New York Times said the snipers are among about 200 Russian fighters who have arrived in Libya in the last six weeks to fight for Khalifa Haftar’s forces against the UN-backed Government of National Accord, part of a broad campaign by the Kremlin to reassert its influence across the Middle East and Africa.

“Russia is now pushing far more directly to shape the outcome of Libya’s messy civil war. It has introduced advanced Sukhoi jets, coordinated missile strikes, and precision-guided artillery, as well as the snipers — the same playbook that made Moscow a kingmaker in the Syrian civil war.” The New York Times added.

According to the report, the Russian snipers belong to the Wagner Group, the Kremlin-linked private company that also led Russia’s intervention in Syria, according to three senior Libyan officials and five Western diplomats closely tracking the war.