Radio France Internationale (RFI) covered the activities of Syrian mercenaries involved in the recent conflicts in Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh and the dealings with the Turkish authorities.
Since late 2019, thousands of fighters have been recruited as mercenaries, directly or indirectly, by Turkey. It is stated that the largest number of Syrian mercenaries are former anti-regime rebels who have washed up in parts of northwestern Syria under Turkish influence.
The newspaper emphasizes that Turkey dispatched fighters from its Syrian proxies to support Azerbaijan against Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. It is stated that the international community must hold those involved accountable.
The report details how many of the fighters sent to Libya or Nagorno-Karabakh had little choice in the matter and only received a fraction of the money they were promised.
“We went three months without being paid, and after we each asked for an advance of $300 they only gave us 100 and kept the rest,” the fighter testified.
Recruited mercenaries were offered deals, sometimes in written contracts, fetching $3,000 in monthly pay with compensation to the families of $75,000 in case of death and sometimes even Turkish citizenship.
A broker who organized recruitment drives for Turkey and is quoted in the report said “the armed groups always breach the contracts” and give the fighters salaries of $800-1,400.
Issues of unpaid compensation were also reported after Syrian mercenaries were killed in Libya and in Nagorno-Karabakh.
