The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights

SOHR: Russia is recruiting thousands from Syria for the war in Ukraine

Russia has drawn up lists of 40,000 fighters from the Syrian army and allied militias to be put on standby for deployment to Ukraine, a war monitor said on Tuesday.

The Kremlin said last week that volunteers, including from Syria, were welcome to fight alongside the Russian military in Ukraine.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and activists said Russian officers, in coordination with the Syrian army and allied militias, set up registry offices in regime-held areas.

“More than 40,000 Syrians have registered to fight alongside Russia in Ukraine so far,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the UK-based observatory.

Moscow is recruiting Syrians who have gained combat experience in the 11-year Syrian civil war to support the invasion of Ukraine launched on February 24.

Russian officers deployed as part of the force Moscow sent to Syria in 2015 to support Damascus had approved 22,000, Abdel Rahman said.

 

These fighters are either fighters from the army or pro-regime militias who have experience in street warfare and have received Russian training.

In a country where soldiers earn between $15 and $35 a month, Russia has promised them a salary of $1,100 to fight in Ukraine, the Observatory reported.

They are also entitled to $7,700 in compensation for injuries and their families to $16,500 if killed in action.

Another 18,000 men had registered with Syria’s ruling Baath Party and were believed to be vetted by the Wagner Group, a private Russian military contractor with ties to the Kremlin, the monitor said.

Misinformation about Syrian recruits in Ukraine is spreading online.

Last week photos were shared of a Syrian soldier who they say died in Ukraine, but it later emerged he was killed in his native country in 2015.

Lack of jobs

The Observatory said it had no confirmed reports yet of Syrian recruits leaving for Ukraine.

Abdel Rahman said Russia had recruited Syrian army recruits from the 25th Special Mission Forces Division, formerly better known as “tiger forces”, and the Russian-led 5th Division.

Fighters from the Palestinian group Liwaa al-Quds and the military wing of the Ba’ath Party had also enlisted.

A Syrian government official denied the recruitment drive.

“So far, no names have been written down, no soldiers are registered in any center and no one has traveled to Russia to fight in Ukraine,” Omar Rahmoun, of the Committee of Security, told AFP. national reconciliation.

Syrian mercenaries have already fought on opposite sides of foreign conflicts, in Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh.

More than a decade of war has plunged 90% of the population into poverty, a factor Syrians for Truth and Justice said was a key factor in recruitment.

A Syrian soldier told the activist group this month that he signed up to fight in Ukraine because he could not find work after his military service.

“The situation is extremely serious. There is no electricity, no heating, no domestic gas,” he said, adding that he had registered at an army intelligence office in air near Damascus.

“A Few Hundred Dollars”

Regime-allied forces have opened recruitment centers in the eastern towns of Al-Mayadeen and Deir Ezzor, according to Omar Abu Layla, who runs the Deir Ezzor 24 media outlet.

“Wagner started it all at Deir Ezzor; only dozens have signed up so far,” he said.

“In a country that lacks basic necessities, some have no choice but to fight… for a few hundred dollars.”

Turkish-backed rebels in northern Syria are also preparing to send fighters to the opposite side.

An AFP reporter in northern Syria said factions preparing for Ukraine include the Sultan Murad, Sulaiman Shah and Hamza divisions, all of which had previously sent hundreds of fighters to fight in Libya and Azerbaijan .

While money is the main driver for Syrian mercenaries on both sides of the conflict, rights groups have said Ankara’s proxies often exploit fighters and withhold salaries.

One fighter told AFP he was promised $3,000 to join the Ukrainian battlefield.

“We are tired of hunger…I will go and never come back. From Ukraine I plan to go to Europe,” said another.

 

 

 

 

 

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