Turkey violates Libya’s sovereignty with new batch of Syrian mercenaries

Turkish intelligence and pro-Turkish factions are preparing to send a new batch of Syrian mercenaries to Libya.

“More than 150 members of various Syrian and pro-Turkish factions are preparing to go to Turkey in the coming hours to be transferred to Libya before the middle of this month,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, citing its sources.

A similar batch will return from Libya, where the passengers and returnees will be flown in the same plane, the source said.

According to sources, the rotation of mercenaries will take place every 15 days and periodically, that is, it maintains the numbers of mercenaries at its bases in Libya.

Turkey recruits mercenaries for a monthly salary of no more than US$500, transports them using military and civilian airports, and then transports them by land to reach Syria through military crossings it controls with pro-government factions in the northern Aleppo countryside.

In late June, activists spotted a new transfer of Syrian mercenaries to and from Libyan territory, the Observatory said. A batch of about 200 mercenaries returned to Syria on Monday (June 28) and arrived in Syria from the Hiwar Kilis crossing in Rif Aleppo, while more than 300 members of Turkish camps inside Syria are preparing to leave later.

The sources confirmed that a similar number of mercenaries joined the factions fighting in Libya on the same day after the arrival of the last batch via a Yushin military transport plane.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said more than 500 mercenaries, including members of the Amishat, Sultan Murad, Firqat al-Hamza and other factions, have been transferred to Libya since the beginning of June, while 535 others have returned to Syria.

The exit of the “mercenaries” from Libyan territory remains completely halted, despite all international demands for their immediate exit and the continuous media focus on their file, especially by the Syrian Observatory, in light of the Libyan-Libyan understandings, but this has not worked to the moment.

“The Turkish government continues to transfer Syrian mercenaries to and from Libya, as part of the ongoing exchanges, some 7000 pro-Ankara Syrian mercenaries remain in Libya at this point.”