Along with Second Berlin conference on Libya | Over 10,000 Syrian mercenaries remain in Libya
The withdrawal of Syrian mercenaries from Libya has been still completely suspended, despite all the ongoing international calls for their immediate withdrawal, and the continuous media coverage regarding this case, especially by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, in light of the Libyan-Libyan understandings. Meanwhile, Turkish government seems indifferent to these calls and appeals, as it keeps transferring Syrian mercenaries to Libya. Recently, Turkish government has transferred more than 300 Syrian mercenaries of the factions al-Amshat, Sultan Murad, al-Hamza Division and others to Libya since the beginning of June 2021. While nearly 235 Syrian fighters returned from Libya to Syria in the same period. However, the return of this batch has not been permanently withdrawn and it is just a part of back-and-forth transfer operation, as there are over 7,000 Turkish backed mercenaries inside Libya till this moment.
On the other hand, none of Syrian mercenaries who were recruited by the Russian” Wagner” company for protecting and serving the Russian interests in Libya have returned to Syria, where their estimated number ranges between 2,500 to 3,000 mercenaries.
This development coincides with holding the Second Berlin Conference which discusses the withdrawal of all foreign forces and mercenaries from Libya permanently.
On Jun 19, reliable SOHR sources confirmed that nearly 140 Syrian fighters of Turkish-backed factions have returned from Libya to Syria in the past few days. The sources also confirmed that the return of this batch has not been a part of a plan to evacuate Turkish-backed mercenaries from Libya, as nearly 200 other mercenaries were sent to Libya instead. It is worth noting that all the fighters of the batch transferred recently to Libya were of the factions of al-Amshat, Sultan Murad and al-Hamza Division. Accordingly, the withdrawal of Turkish-backed mercenaries form Libya were suspended, despite all international appeals and Libyan-Libyan understandings.
On June 7, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported the return of a group of Turkish-backed Syrian mercenaries from Libya to Syria. In the previous 48 hours, nearly 95 fighters affiliated to the factions of “al-Hamzah Division, al-Majd Brigade, Sultan Murad, al-Muatasem Division.”
SOHR sources added that the return of those fighters was a part of back-and-forth transfer operations, as another group of 100 fighters from the same factions were dispatched by the Turkish government to Libya.
On the other hand, SOHR sources reported that al-Hamzah Division arrested several fighters who returned back with the latest patch after committing severe violations in Libya.
The back-and-forth transfer operations coincided with the international continuous demands to withdraw mercenaries from Libya. However, such demands met with Turkish government’s indifference, despite the considerable coverage by media, especially by SOHR.