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Foreign ministry denies UN experts’ claim that Belarusian mercenaries may be involved in Libya’s civil war

 

The Belarusian foreign ministry has dismissed as “untrustworthy” a report by UN experts that Belarusian mercenaries may be involved in Libya’s civil war, said BelaPAN.

The Associated Press reported last week with reference to Jose Luis Gomez del Prado, head of a United Nations working group on the use of mercenaries, that some of the foreign fighters operating in Libya came from Belarus.

In a statement issued on April 9, Andrey Savinykh, spokesman for the Belarusian foreign ministry, described the reports as “untrustworthy.” “In this respect, it is appropriate to recall the unfounded accusations [against Belarus] of supplying military helicopters to Ivory Coast, which ended with UN officials offering official apologies to Belarus,” he said.

“We will demand an official investigation in the UN in connection with the situation,” he added.

Mr. Savinykh noted that Minsk viewed the United Nations as a key instrument of constructive cooperation between states for the sake of peace and sustainable development. “Any actions aimed at the behind-the-scenes manipulation of public opinion under the guise of the UN authority are unacceptable,” he warned.

The UN working group issued a statement Friday saying that it was "especially concerned about the reported involvement of mercenaries in serious human rights violations" in countries such as Libya and Ivory Coast.

Mr. Del Prado said that at least several hundred mercenaries were known to be in the North African country.

"We examined several sources of information that indicate Gadhafi has used mercenaries and is using mercenaries against the population of Libya," the Associated Press quoted the expert as saying.

"There was some information that there were snipers that were contracted at least by Col. Gadhafi and possibly also by the opposition," he noted.

Earlier this month, the Belarusian Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense denied another media report of Belarus’ military presence in strife-torn Libya.

“There are no Belarusian military experts in Libya and there cannot be any,” Mr. Savinykh said in a statement on April 6.

The press office of the defense ministry was also quick to deny the report, dismissing it as provocative and untrue. “Only one military serviceman is present in Libya. This is the Belarusian embassy’s military attache,” the press office said.