LibyaPolitics

Report: Turkey continues to send Syrian mercenaries to Libya

A report published by the Nordic Monitor website highlighted Turkey’s continued sending of Syrian mercenaries to Libya, using a report submitted to the Security Council, indicating the continued presence of Syrian fighters backed by Ankara in camps belonging to the unity government in the capital, Tripoli.

The report, prepared by the Panel of Experts on Libya and submitted to the Security Council on May 27, 2022, revealed that there are back-and-forth transfers of Syrian fighters to and from Libya, with the exit of those whose contracts have expired and their replacement with new mercenaries.

A member of the Syrian National Army, Fadlallah Hajji, said, in an interview on July 18, 2021, that sending Syrian fighters to Libya was part of a strategic plan for cooperation between the National Army and the Turkish Army.

The United Nations expressed its concerns about Ankara’s deployment of Syrian fighters in Libya, and considered it an act that threatens peace, stability and security in Libya, as well as an obstacle that undermines the successful completion of the political transition process in the country. It stressed that foreign fighters and private military companies in Libya still pose a serious threat for the security of Libya and the region.

A Pentagon report issued in July 2020 indicated that Turkey had sent between 3,500 and 3,800 Syrian fighters to Libya during the first quarter of the aforementioned year, amid reports that the fighters receive salaries ranging between 800 and 2,000 dollars per month.

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