Syrian mercenaries in Libya have reportedly received the second half of their salaries, an estimated $300 US dollars, sources told the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
At the same time, the Government of National Unity (GNU) led by Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba remains unwilling to pay the salaries of soldiers belonging to the Libyan National Army (LNA).
The LNA’s General Command stated last week that the Prime Minister had suspended the payment of their paycheques.
In a statement, it said that Dbaiba had suspended the paycheques of LNA forces, “while he and his family spent 20 billion dinars on developing corruption, instead of working to improve the lives of citizens.” The statement added that LNA forces are protecting the oil facilities, whose revenues amounted to 103 billion dinars in 2021, “despite that, Dbaiba and his family rewarded us by cutting salaries.” It added that suspending the salaries means “cutting off half a million people, including soldiers’ families, and their children from their lives.”
The SOHR claimed that the total payments in January amounted to $900 US dollars each, while 10,500 Turkish liras were delivered to their relatives in Aleppo. On 2 January, SOHR activists reported that the mercenaries received the salaries after a seven-month delay.
On Monday, the Observatory reported that the Turkish government intended to maintain these mercenaries, despite international calls for all foreign forces to withdraw from Libya.
An estimated 7,000 Syrian fighters are believed to remain in Libya, according to the SOHR.