On Sunday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) revealed that a batch of Syrian mercenaries from Turkish-backed factions has landed in Azerbaijan, from Turkey. It added that the Syrian militants arrived in Turkey a few days earlier from Afrin, which is located in the countryside north-west of Aleppo.
The Syrian observatory pointed out that reliable sources have confirmed another batch is being prepared to be sent to Azerbaijan. These developments come as part of Turkey’s policy of turning Syrian fighters into mercenaries.
On 24 September, the SOHR said that the Turkish government transported over 300 fighters from the Turkish-backed Syrian factions, mostly “Sultan Murad” and “Al-Amshat” factions, from the villages and towns of the Afrin canton in north-western Aleppo.
The fighters themselves said that they were taken to Azerbaijan in order to guard the state’s border in return for salaries of 1,500 to 2,000 USD. However, SOHR did not verify if the mercenaries’ destination would be Azerbaijan, Libya or somewhere else.
Yesterday, reliable SOHR sources confirmed that a new batch of some 1,400 Turkish-backed mercenaries returned from Libya to Syria, after completing the duration of their contracts. According to SOHR statistics, the number of recruits who arrived in Libya rose to nearly 18,000 Syrian mercenaries, including 350 children under the age of 18. Among those 18,000 mercenaries, 8,500 returned to Syria after completing the duration of their contracts and receiving their financial dues. It is worth noting that the number of jihadists who were transported from Syria to Libya reached 10,000, including 2,500 Tunisians.