Since 11 December, two civilian-registered Russian Il-76TD heavy transport aircraft have been con ducting (almost) daily shuttle flights from Russia via the NATO-country Turkey to Libya’s Al-Khadim air base (east of Benghazi) and back. On 16 December, both jets flew from Al-Khadim to Bamako, Mali. Both Il-76TD belong to the Russian Ministry for Emergency Situations and frequently carry out missions on behalf of the MoD. Some Russian warships are reportedly on the way from Syria to Libya.
On 16 December, in the UNSC session on Libya, the US Representative to the UN Linda Thomas-Green field said ‘We should all be concerned by the Panel’s reports on transfers of military equipment in flagrant violation of the UN arms embargo, including Russian naval vessels unloading military materiel at Tubruq port.’