Libyans deported from South Africa were 'receiving training for Khalifa Haftar'
Scores of Libyans who were recently expelled from South Africa were receiving military training for eastern commander Khalifa Haftar's Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF), according to reports in local media.
Ninety-five Libyans were arrested on 26 July after they were discovered training on a farm being used as a clandestine military camp in the province of Mpumalanga, near Mozambique. They were deported from the country days later.
They had been receiving training via webcam from Haftar's forces (previously known as the Libyan National Army), whistleblowers told South African newspapers City Press and Rapport.
The sources said that amongst the Libyans were former fighters belonging to the Islamic State group, who were paid to join the LAAF. Middle East Eye was unable to independently verify the claim.
The 95 men reportedly received training in sea survival, parachuting and marksmanship. One source told Rapport that the fighters trained with wooden weapons because instructors were afraid any real weapons would be used against them.
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One of Haftar's generals monitored the training via webcam from Libya, handing out punishments to maintain discipline, the source said.
The source added that the men were part of a larger group of over 900 Libyans who were supposed to train in South Africa in preparation to join Haftar's forces. South Africa did not comment on the report.
Haftar was a former colonel under long-time ruler Muammar Gaddafi until he was exiled to the United States in 1991. He returned to Libya in 2011 following the country's revolution.
He initially served in the internationally recognised government until 2014, when civil war broke out. Haftar's forces went on to take over Libya's east and south.
The LAAF launched a brutal 14-month offensive against western factions to take Tripoli and topple the government there in 2019, but were eventually repelled.
Haftar receives support from Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Chadian and Sudanese fighters, as well as other mercenary groups.
Potential war crimes by Haftar's forces and allied groups have been well documented, including a Middle East Eye report in 2020 which revealed mass graves found in the city of Tarhuna.
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