The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights

“Do not come to Libya .. We want to return .. Turkey fooled us”: Syrian mercenaries regret joining war in Libya

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights continues to monitor shipment of Syrian mercenaries to Libya by Turkey. SOHR sources have confirmed that widespread discontent is prevailing among the Syrian fighters which have been sent to Libya, since Turkey abandoned its promises at a time when the Syrian mercenaries suffer from dire living conditions there.

SOHR sources obtained an audio recording in which a Syrian fighter in Libya said that he regretted involving in the battle in Libya and he called upon everybody wanted to come to Libya not to do so, as the Turks did not pay the monthly salary (2,000 USD). He said “Turkey paid our salaries for only one month. It has not secured any thing for us. Even cigarettes, we hardly got them. We stay in a house but we can not get out of it, since cells of Haftar’s forces are deployed throughout the area.”

All of us want to return to Syria. There are batches have already get prepared to leave Libya to Syria through Al-Sham Corps”, he added.

A few days earlier, Syrian Observatory activists documented a spike in death toll of Turkish-backed Syrian proxies in battles with Libyan National Army in several Libyan areas. Eight fighters were killed in the past few days, some of whom have been shipped to Syria and buried in controlled areas of “Euphrates Shield” factions in Aleppo countryside.

On the other hand, Haftar’s forces captured a Syrian mercenary of those who were sent to Libya by Turkey.

Accordingly, the number of Syrian mercenaries who joined the military operations in Libya and killed there rose to 151. The fatalities are of the factions “al-Mu’tasim Division, Sultan Murad, Suqur Al-Shamal Brigade, Al-Hamzat and Suleiman Shah”.

According to very reliable SOHR sources, the fatalities were killed in clashes on frontlines of Salah Al-Din in the south of Tripoli, Al-Ramlah near Tripoli Airport, Al-Hadabah Project area, Misrata and other areas in Libya.

A few days ago, SOHR sources reported that that Turkey lowered the salaries of Syrian fighters who volunteered to engage the war in Libya, as their number exceeded 6,000, the number that Turkey requested.

Over the recent period, SOHR sources reported that the number of recruits who arrived in Tripoli up to date rose to nearly 4,750, while nearly 1,900 others arrived in Turkey to undergo training courses.