Left Libya four days ago | Destination of dozens of Ankara-backed Syrian mercenaries remains unknown
The destination of the batch comprising dozens of Turkish-backed Syrian mercenaries, which left Libyan territory on March 25, is still unknown.
It is not yet known whether the batch returned to Turkey, went to Europe or was transferred by the Turkish government elsewhere, but it certainly has not entered Syrian territory yet. The return of Syrian mercenaries from Libya has been suspended since March 21, amid growing discontent among the Syrian fighters in Libya, in light of procrastination and maneuvering by the Turkish government regarding their return to Syria.
Four days ago, SOHR sources monitored growing discontent among the Syrian mercenaries in Libyan, as their return to Syria was suspended since Sunday, March 21, after a batch of 120 fighters of the “Sultan Murad” faction returned to Syria from Libya.
However, there is concern that the return of a number of these mercenaries is only a Turkish maneuver on media, as there are still more than 6,630 mercenaries in Libya.
According to Syrian Observatory sources from within the mercenaries, there are Turkish intentions to keep groups of Turkish-backed Syrian fighters in Libya to protect Turkish bases, while many of these mercenaries do not want to return to Syria but want to go to Europe via Italy.
On March 21, very reliable sources told SOHR that a new batch of some 120 Syrian fighters, including mercenaries of “Sultan Murad” faction, returned from Libya to Syria in the past few hours. This development coincides with the dire conditions of the Turkish-backed mercenaries in Libya, as SOHR sources confirmed that the mercenaries have not received their monthly salaries and payments, amid their anger and desire to return to Syria immediately.
On the other hand, SOHR sources in Afrin area have confirmed that Abu Amsha, the leader of Sultan Suleiman Shah faction, is preparing a batch of the faction’s fighters in order to send them to Turkey. It is not known yet these fighters’ following destination, but it is very likely that they will be sent to Libya. SOHR sources say that Abu Amsha has informed these fighters that they would be given a monthly salary of 500 USD each, and the batch is expected to leave to Syria in hours.
On Friday, reliable SOHR sources reported that the Turkish-backed Syrian fighters in Libya were informed to pack up and prepare themselves to return to Syria, at orders by the Turkish government, which had sent the mercenaries to serve Turkey’s narrow interests in Libya. This development came in light of Erdogan’s new political stance towards the Arabs through attempts to amend its diplomatic and political relations with Egypt.
On February 13, SOHR sources reported that the return of the Turkish-backed Syrian mercenaries was completely suspended, as some of these mercenaries in Libya confirmed that they were not asked to prepare for their return, in a clear reference to the mercenaries issue that has been suspended since mid-November 2020, despite the Libyan-Libyan consensus and all international demands for the departure of foreign forces from Libya, amid ongoing media blackout regarding the mercenaries’ issue.
While on March 9, SOHR sources said that the mercenaries who were maintained in Libya hindered stability in the country, in light of the Libyan-Libyan discussions to grant confidence to the new Government of National Unity. It is worth noting that 6,750 Syrian fighters of Turkish-backed factions maintained in Libya, and the operations which took place since November were only change of shifts, as some batches returned to Syria while other batches were sent to Libya. The presence of foreign mercenaries in Libya continued despite all international demands and the Libyan-Libyan agreement and the end of the deadline given to foreign mercenaries to leave Libya. According to the Libyan-Libyan agreement, foreign fighters (mercenaries) were supposed to withdraw from Libya within three months after the ceasefire came into force on October 23, 2020.
On the other hand, nearly 2,000 other Syrian mercenaries recruited by the Russian company of “Wagner” and sent to Libya for guarding affiliated facilities are still there, as Russia offers relatively high salaries, exploiting the dire living conditions in Syria.
According to SOHR statistics, the number of recruits who arrived in Libya approximated 18,000 Syrian mercenaries, including 350 children under the age of 18, of whom 10,750 returned to Syria after completing the duration of their contracts and receiving their financial dues. While the number of jihadists who were transported from Syria to Libya reached 10,000, of whom there were 2,500 Tunisians.