Turkey has transferred tens of thousands of Syrian mercenaries to western Libya, since it announced its intention to intervene militarily in Libya in December 2019. It did so under a security agreement it signed with the outgoing Government of National Accord (GNA)
The Turkish government also sent Syrian fighters to the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which is a disputed region between Armenia and Azerbaijan, to participate in the war alongside the Azerbaijani forces.
Sources have told Libya Review that Turkey, in coordination with Qatar now intends to transfer loyal Syrian fighters, in Azerbaijan & Libya to Afghanistan..
Libya Review sources have confirmed that Turkey’s move to transfer mercenaries in Libya and Azerbaijan to Afghanistan is “supported by the change in Turkish foreign policy in the Middle East.”
These moves indicate that Turkey has begun to retreat from the “provocative” roles it used to play in a number of countries in the region, especially Libya. This step has come after an increase in international demands calling for the expulsion of foreign fighters from the North-African country.
On October 8th, Libya’s 5+5 Joint Military Commission (JMC) signed a comprehensive action plan, which it described as the cornerstone of a gradual, balanced and sequential process for the withdrawal of mercenaries, foreign fighters and foreign forces from Libyan territory.
Following the announcement of the Action Plan, the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), António Guterres, called on all Libyan and international parties to work towards implementing the plan for the withdrawal of mercenaries and foreign fighters from Libya.
In a previous statement, France, Germany, Britain, the United States (US) and Italy also supported the Libya’s JMC in implementing its comprehensive Action Plan for the withdrawal of mercenaries, foreign fighters and foreign forces from Libyan territory.
International and regional calls for the necessity of removing the mercenaries from Libya put Turkey in a dilemma. This prompted it to go directly to coordination efforts with its ally Qatar, to get the mercenaries out of Libya.
The sources indicated that Turkey and Qatar are “working with full force to manage & operate Kabul Airport to enable them to transport Syrians from Libya and Azerbaijan to Afghanistan.”