New batch of mercenaries heads to Turkey, likely to be transferred to Libya: SOHR

CAIRO - 22 March 2020: Sources of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that a batch of mercenaries estimated at 120 fighters from the Sultan Murad faction and others had returned during the previous hours from Libya to the Syrian territories.

This comes in light of the miserable conditions of the Turkey-backed-militants in Libya, where the sources of the Syrian Observatory revealed that the mercenaries are extremely upset, because they have not been receiving their salaries and monthly dues and want to return immediately to Syria.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory's sources from Afrin reported that Abu Amsha, "the king of the Sheikh Hadid Kingdom" and the leader of the Sultan Suleiman Shah faction, is preparing to dispatch a group of his fighters to Turkey; no confirmed information has yet been received about their next destination, and it is believed that it is Libya.

The sources added that Abu Amsha told the fighters that their monthly salary would be $500 and that the fighters were expected to go out to Turkey in the coming hours.

The Syrian Observatory had published that orders were issued to the Syrian militants loyal to Ankara inside the Libyan territories, to begin preparing for their return to Syria. The orders came from the Turkish side, which sent "mercenaries" to Libya to secure its interests there.

On March 14, The SOHR indicated that days are passing and that the file of "mercenaries" who are inside the Libyan territories is still completely suspended, as the return of mercenaries affiliated to the pro-Ankara factions is still completely stopped.

By communicating with those mercenaries, they reported that they had not yet been requested to prepare to return to Syria, in a direct reference to the pending issue since mid-November 2020, despite the Libyan consensus and all international demands for the exit of foreign forces from Libya, amid absence of media support for the file.

The SOHR indicated, on March 9, that in light of the ongoing Libyan-Libyan talks to give confidence to the new national unity government, the most prominent event that impedes the stability of Libya remains the presence of mercenaries inside its territory, as 6,750 mercenaries from the pro-Ankara Syrian factions are still present in Libya and none of them returned to Syria.

All that has happened since mid-November of the year 2020 until the moment is the exchange of mercenaries; an old batch returns to Syria and the Turkish government sends another payment for it, despite the expiration of the deadline for the withdrawal of mercenaries from Libya, which resulted from a Libyan-Libyan consensus signed on October 23, 2020, and the deadline expired on Saturday, January 23, 2021.

According to the statistics of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the number of Syrian mercenaries, who have been dispatched to the Libyan territories after being recruited by the Turkish intelligence services, amounted to about 18,000 Syrian mercenaries, including 350 children under the age of 18 years.

About 10,750 mercenaries of the pro-Turkish factions returned to Syria, ending their contracts and taking their financial dues, while the number of militants who arrived in Libya reached 10,000, including 2,500 holders of Tunisian nationality.

Ankara continues escalating its involvement in the Libyan conflict by supporting the Government of National Accord (GNA), despite Turkey participating and agreeing to the results of the Berlin conference held in January 2021, where foreign states active in Libya agreed to uphold the UN arms embargo.