The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights

Turkish-backed mercenaries | Turkey sends over 300 fighters to Azerbaijan

Reliable sources have informed the Syrian Observatory that the Turkish government transported over 300 fighters of the Turkish-backed Syrian factions, mostly of “Sultan Murad” and “Al-Amshat” factions, from the villages and towns of Afrin canton in north-western Aleppo.

 

The fighters themselves have said that they are taken to Azerbaijan in order to guard the state’s border in return for salaries of 1,500 to 2,000 USD. However, SOHR has not verified if the mercenaries’ destination will be Azerbaijan, Libya or somewhere else.

 

On September 8, reliable SOHR sources confirmed that the Turkish government cut the salaries of mercenaries of the Turkish-backed factions who desired to continue fighting in Libya. According to the Turkish government’s decision, which came in the wake of the Libyan-Libyan consensus, the recruited mercenaries would receive 600 USD per month each, after they were getting paid a monthly salary of an estimated 2,000 USD each.

 

On the other hand, SOHR sources reported that a new batch of Turkish-backed mercenaries returned from Libya to Syria, after completing the duration of their contracts, bringing the total number of returnees in ten days to more than 1,200.

 

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, of whom 7,100 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, of whom there were 2,500 Tunisians.