The director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), Rami Abdel Rahman, confirmed that the process of recruiting Syrian fighters for the war in Libya is still continuing at the hands of Turkish Intelligence and the Ministry of Defence of the self-styled Syrian Interim Government. The recruitment and delivery of fighters is done without any regard to international calls for ending such practices.
According to SOHR’s media office, Abdel Rahman said that 120 fighters, including children, left the displacement camps in North-western Syria as a result of their poor financial condition. They have been deceived by the pro-Turkish factions of Suleiman Shah, Sultan Murad, and the Sham Legion, as they were told that their mission was to protect oil installations in Qatar as part of security companies there for a monthly salary of $3,000. Upon their arrival in training camps in Turkey, they were actually sent to Libya with a monthly salary of only $2,000.
“The International Community has been silent on the entry of tens of thousands of jihadists into Syria until 2014, and today it is silent on Libya as well,” Abdel Rahman added.
The SOHR director also noted that there are more than 10,000 fighters, including 2,500 from Tunisia, who were transferred to Libya via the Turkish territory earlier. More than 480 Syrian mercenaries, including dozens of children, have been killed in Libya since their dispatchment.