Turkey's proxy fighters in Libya

The issue of mercenaries of Syrian nationalities in Libyan territory continue, as some batches of fighters return from Libya to Syria, while other batches go from Syria to Libya, and these operations in both ways are done by Turkey.

The numbers of mercenaries of Turkish-backed factions have not changed due to the back-and forth transfer operations of mercenaries.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the returning group often consists of 100 to 250 mercenaries, and similar numbers are going to Libya. The return of fighters from Libya should meet certain conditions such as health and security conditions.

Meanwhile, some mercenaries are fleeing the headquarters and camps to inside Libyan territory, while others are still trying to reach Europe through Italy, as they were not allowed to return to Syria and did not get their monthly salaries, with constant salary cuts.

Syrian Observatory sources have said that the salaries are being handed over after the expiry of the fighters’ contracts and return to Syria. The Turkish government pays the expenses of food and military medicine for its proxy fighters, while the other needs at the expense of mercenaries.

On January 17, reliable sources informed the Syrian Observatory that a new batch of Ankara-backed mercenaries in Libya returned to Syrian territory in the last hours. 

It is worth noting that this is the second batch of fighters returned from Libya in days, after the suspension of the return of fighters for two months, specifically since mid-November 2020.