Syrian mercenaries recruited to fight in Libyan quagmire

A recent Pentagon report reveals that Turkey has sent more than 3,500 Syrian fighters to Libya in the past three months for the benefit of the government in Tripoli. In the opposite camp, Russia is also providing mercenaries from Syria to bolster Marshal Haftar’s ranks, through the private military company Wagner.

A “zero death” war, at least officially. To minimize their loss of life, national armies increasingly resort to mercenaries, foreigners who fight for money. In contemporary history, Syria is a textbook case. And it is in this country bruised by nine years of war that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan are now recruiting those who will be sent to the Libyan front, where they support opposing camps.

Turkey, which sponsors the government of national unity (GNA), recognized by the UN, has sent between 3,500 and 3,800 Syrian fighters to Libya for the benefit of the forces of Faïez el-Serraj during the first three months of the year, according to a recent report from the Office of the Inspector General of the Pentagon. In the opposite camp, Russia, through its military company Wagner, is supplying Russian and Syrian mercenaries to Marshal Khalifa Haftar, according to a UN document leaked in early May. Haftar is also actively supported by the United Arab Emirates, who accuse the GNA of being close to the Muslim Brotherhood, and Egypt, whose Parliament has just approved a possible intervention in Libya.

Already in January, UN experts claimed that individuals from Darfur (western Sudan) and neighboring Chad were fighting as “mercenaries” in Libya.

“Equipment, training and logistics assistance”

«Haftar, we are coming!Threatens a man in fatigues, claiming to belong to the Sultan Mourad division, a Turkmen rebel group from the Syrian civil war, in a video posted on social media in early January, when Erdogan announced the passage of a law allowing the sending of troops to Tripoli. «We will support by all means the government of Tripoli, which resists against a putschist general supported by Arab and European countries», Declared the Turkish president, referring to Marshal Haftar.

To repel the offensive of the strongman of the East Libyan on the capital, Erdogan recruited, in the north of Aleppo, several thousand Arab and Turkmen auxiliaries who had participated in the offensive against the Kurds, in October 2019. «The GNA never asked for human resources from the Turks but for more equipment, assistance with training and logistics, recalls Jalel Harchaoui, researcher at the Clingendael Institute in The Hague. Erdogan wanted above all to lessen the political cost of his defeat in Idlib by proposing a new cause to this pro-Turkish community.According to the expert’s estimates, nearly 8,000 Syrians are currently fighting alongside pro-government forces. In its latest report, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH) mentions 16,100 mercenaries, including 340 children under the age of 18 and 5,600 returned to Syria after the end of their six-month contract.

«Contrary to what we have heard, these are not jihadists from Idlib», Specifies Thomas Pierret, researcher at the CNRS and specialist in the Middle East. The Pentagon report also indicates that it is “very probable” that these mercenaries were motivated by generous financial means rather than by ideology or politics, contrary to what the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Yves Le Drian had said at the beginning of July. In addition to the presence of Syrian fighters, confirmed by Turkey, Ankara sent drones and anti-aircraft defense systems to the GNA, allowing Serraj to reverse the balance of power and multiply military successes against his rival.

“Radioactive project”

Other Syrian mercenaries also joined the marshal’s ranks. At the center of the game, Wagner, a mysterious private military company, whose fighters protect Moscow’s interests in countries such as Ukraine, the Central African Republic, or Sudan. “Putin does not believe in Haftar’s ambitions and did not want to engage as a state in this radioactive project», Underlines Jalel Harchaoui to justify the choice of the United Arab Emirates to resort to the Russian company to support Haftar. According to several Russian and Western media, the Wagner group would be financed by Yevgeny Prigojine, a close friend of Putin, allowing the Kremlin to convert the security service of the company into political influence in Libya.

«The offensive on Tripoli proved that Haftar fighters [entre 18 000 et 25 000 hommes, ndlr] were not ready to risk their lives away from their hometown. Even the air support of their Emirati ally was not enough to reverse the trend. There was an urgent need for mercenaries», Explains Jalel Harchaoui. Reluctant to send his best Russian fighters, Wagner then turned to Syrian territories populated by retired soldiers and so-called “reconciled” rebels. According to the Suwayda 24 website, dHundreds of young Syrians have reportedly been recruited in Soueïda, but also in Deraa, Homs, Damascus, Tartous or Lattakia. The media specifies that the recruits pass through the Russian base ofHmeimim, in Lattakia, on the Mediterranean coast, before reaching Benghazi.

«Despite the UAE’s best efforts, the Syrian president has not agreed to provide men from his own armed forces because of the needs inside the country. On the other hand, he did not mind sending these former rebels whose reliability he doubts.», Adds the specialist. Bashar al-Assad’s regime – which sealed an alliance with Haftar in March – has not taken over all of Syrian territory. Two main areas escape him : the north-east, managed by a Kurdish administration, and the province of Idlib (north-west).

“Wagner does not hesitate to play on the despair of the Syrians”

The society close to Moscow, however, encountered more resistance from the population: the Libyan quagmire has a bad reputation and the Syrians know that they will be used there like cannon fodder. “The departure of these fighters was viewed with great cynicism, especially by the revolutionaries ”, remembers Thomas Pierret, who recalls that Libya was one of the main suppliers of arms to the Syrian opposition. Today, around 1,500 Syrians are said to be fighting alongside Haftar. And the number continues to grow: it could be doubled at the end of the year, according to estimates by Jalel Harchaoui.

Wagner, like Turkey, does not hesitate to compensate for the lack of motivation of the fighters with a strong argument: remuneration. For many months, the Syrian economy is in free fall, with a historic depreciation of the currency. More than 80% of the population lives below the poverty line, according to the UN. For example, Moscow offers a monthly salary of around $ 1,000 per month for “facility” guard positions, and $ 1,500 if recruits join the front lines, according to Suwayda 24. Ankara offers for its share 2,000 dollars and obtain Turkish nationality. “The Turkmen fighters no longer have any political and economic perspective in Syria”, explains Thomas Pierret. The financial aspect also prevails on the side of the pro-Assad forces: “$ 1,000 today is not the same as $ 1,000 a year ago. Wagner does not hesitate to play on the desperation of the Syrians to take them to Libya “, ajoute Jalel Harchaoui.

According to an OSDH report on July 13, more than 450 Syrian mercenaries supported by Turkey were killed during military operations in Libya.