Turkey Uses ‘Brokers’ To Recruit Syrian Refugees To Fight In Libya : Monitoring Group
Turkey was recruiting Syrian refugee to fight in Libya with the help of brokers working in refugee camps, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on August 8.
According to the London-based monitoring group, the brokers are recruiting older men, youth and militants to fight for the Turkish-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in Libya. For every new recruit, the brokers receive a one-time payment of $100 to $300 from Turkey.
“They [Turkey and the brokers] are taking advantage of the catastrophic economic situation in the areas under Turkish influence,” the SOHR’s report reads.
Turkey has deployed 17,300 Syrian militants in Libya since last year. The most recent batch of militants arrived in Libya earlier this week.
The SOHR revealed in previous reports that Turkey had sent at least 350 Syrian children to fight for the GNA in Libya. Out of 481 Syrian militants killed in Libya, at least 34 were minors, under the age of 18.
Turkey is not only recruiting refugees and children to fight in Libya, but also jihadists. The SOHR allege that 10,000 jihadists of different nationalities were transferred from Syria to Libya by Turkey in the last few months.
The information revealed by the SOHR shed light on how Turkey is taking advantage of Syria’s crisis and the misery of Syrians to further its interests in Libya, where it is fueling a similar crisis.
Source: Turkey Uses ‘Brokers’ To Recruit Syrian Refugees To Fight In Libya : Monitoring Group