DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – Recently, cross-checked sources have revealed Turkey’s intention to recruit members of the Syrian National Army (SNA) to fight in Ukraine against the Russian forces using ancient labels already used by Turkey in Libya and Azerbaijan.
The Violation Documentation Center in Northern Syria (VDC-NS) said the Turkish army and intelligence held several meetings with leaders of the SNA in Azaz and Afrin areas in the northern countryside of Aleppo, north Syria, the last was on March 2.
Turkey asked leaders of the SNA to submit lists containing names of members of al-Hamzat Division, Sultan Murad faction, Faylaq al-Sham, Suleiman Shah (also known as al-Amshat), Ahrar al-Sharqiya and Faylaq al-Majd in order to be prepared and sent to Ukraine to fight against the Russian forces.
The recruitment did started with a salary of $1,000 per month for every fighter, the VDC-NS said.
Russian news outlets reported that Ukrainian commanders on one hand and the Turkish intelligence and leaders of the SNA on the other held meetings to discuss the possibility of enlisting Syrian fighters to Ukraine to fight the Russian forces.
Since the Syrian war started, Turkey has intervened in Syria. In May 2017, a de-escalation zone was agreed to be set in a deal brokered by Russia, Turkey and Iran in Astana Peace Talks.
Soon after, the SNA (then the Free Syrian Army/FSA) began to lose the war. Syrians who were loyal to Turkey were moved to Idlib city, northern Syria, and were later recruited by Turkey to involve in battles against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) operating in NE Syria.
The Turkish forces carried out ground and areal military operations inside the Syrian territories starting from Afrin, Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain) and then Tel Abyad using Syrian fighters of the SNA with the aim to control the predominantly Kurdish inhabited areas along the Syrian-Turkish border; areas of the Autonomous Administration, which is seen by Turkey as danger on its national security.
Recruit them abroad
In April 2019, the Libyan war was launched between the Libyan National Army (LNA) headed by Khalifa Haftar against forces loyal to Fayez Mustafa al-Sarraj, president of the Government of National Accord.
Turkey sent thousands of members of the SNA to Libya to fight alongside the Government of National Accord to protect interests of the Turkish government.
International reports confirmed that Turkey sent members of the SNA to Libya, yet Turkey denies allegations.
Depending on its sources, The Guardian published an article saying that around 2,000 Syrian fighters were recruited within military units in Libya under the name Omar al-Mokhtar unit and fight alongside the Government of National Accord.
In February 2020, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan confessed he sent Syrian “mercenaries” loyal to Turkey and Turkish origins trainers to Libya to do drills.
During a press statement, Muhammad al-Qabalawi Prime Minster of the Government of National Accord, said that the presence of these fighters are in the context of military experts sent by Turkey to train fighters of the Government of National Accord.
Turkey’s goal was to expand to the Eastern Mediterranean which is rich with natural gas apart from the Libyan resources.
International accords were concluded stipulating cease fire in Libya and prevent sending military aid to the warring parties, yet Turkey continues to send Syrian militants to Libya and the last batch was sent in February.
The batch included 150 “mercenaries” affiliated with the al-Fateh Brigade, operating under the umbrella of the SNA, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
Turkey and the crisis
Wherever there is crisis, there is Turkey, with a view to expand its interests by recruiting Syrian armed members to be combatants in foreign wars.
In September 2020, a war erupted between Armenia and Azerbaijan over a disputed region known as Nagorno-Karabakh. Soon, Turkey sent the first batch of the armed Syrian “mercenaries” to Azerbaijan to fight against Armenia.
The same scenario like in Libya, scores of media reports said that Turkey sent Syrian armed men to Azerbaijan and dozens of them were captivated by Armenian forces.
In September 2020, Reuters published a report saying that two Syrian fighters admitted that Turkey was sending Syrian members of the SNA to support Azerbaijan. Each fighter received about $1,500 per month.
Syrian fighters were sent to Nagorno-Karabakh to protect Turkish interests which was searching for resources that could flourish the Turkish collapsed economy, open the road to Central Asia through Zangezur Mountains and continue the project of the Turkish-speaking territories that replaces the Ottoman Empire project.
The Azerbaijan-Armenia war ended with the victory of Azerbaijan and its ally Turkey. Later, the Syrian fighters were ousted from Azerbaijan without obtaining the Azerbaijan ID they were promised to get.
Despite the fact that those fighters chose to be “mercenaries” in exchange for money and weapons and under the whims of Turkey, the question is: have these people learned the lesson to not to be cheated by Turkey or by commanders of their factions once again? Do they guarantee to get salaries in case they fight in support of Ukraine against Russia?