"The obligation of a defensive jihad against Russian aggression does not mean falling under the control of another occupier, be it the United States or others," the statement said.

The council also warned that the West's denunciation of this Russian presence "and the claim to cooperate to combat it is a threat and a lie."

"We must not be fooled," it stressed, quoted by the Efe agency.

The African Corps of Russia, the new 'brand' of the former Wagner paramilitary forces that had about 7,000 soldiers in the Maghreb country, is stationed in the east and south, regions controlled by Marshal Khalifa Haftar, military sources confirmed on Monday.

The contingents use naval, air and land bases, such as the ports of Tobruk and Sirte, as well as the airfields of Tamanhint, Al Khadim and Ghardabiya.

The Russian ambassador to Libya, Aidar Aghanin, confirmed on Sunday, on the local channel Al Ahrar, the presence of Russian forces "with the knowledge and approval" of the eastern authorities and assured that the previous information "had been exaggerated and had become a frightening ghost."

Libya is considered the gateway for the African Corps of Russia to Niger, Mali and Central Africa, which is part of Moscow's efforts to expand its influence on the African continent and consolidate its legitimacy.

In April, the United States expressed its concern about this Russian influence to the UN Security Council.

According to the local press, about 1,800 Russian mercenaries have arrived in this region in recent months.

After the former head of the Wagner paramilitary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who died in an alleged plane crash, led a rebellion against the Kremlin, the Russian Defense Ministry created this private military company last December, also composed of mercenaries, but this time under state control.

Russia has been a traditional ally of the eastern Libyan authorities, led by Haftar, and rivals of the Government of National Unity (GNA), based in Tripoli, where according to sources cited by Efe there is no Russian military presence.

Also on Tuesday, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (Unsmil) revealed that almost 400 people have died or been injured by landmines in Libya over the past five years, while the authorities have only managed to clear 36% of the dangerous land identified.

The Mission adds that there are still 436 million square meters contaminated.

Last year alone, 35 civilians were killed or injured by explosive devices, 26 of them minors, which is why the Libyan Mine Action Center announced that it will develop a national strategy together with the International Center for Humanitarian Demining in Geneva and with the support of Unsmil.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) documented the use of landmines by the forces of the Libyan dictator deposed in 2011, Muammar Khadafi, as well as by foreign fighters and allies of the eastern strongman, Marshal Khalifa Haftar, during the 2019 civil war, including improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

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