{"id":1470312,"date":"2024-06-09T17:25:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-09T21:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/?p=1470312"},"modified":"2024-06-09T17:25:00","modified_gmt":"2024-06-09T21:25:00","slug":"turkey-sends-anti-assad-syrian-mercenaries-to-africa-to-guard-mines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/turkey-sends-anti-assad-syrian-mercenaries-to-africa-to-guard-mines\/1470312\/","title":{"rendered":"Turkey Sends Anti-Assad Syrian Mercenaries To Africa To Guard Mines"},"content":{"rendered":"

Turkey Sends Anti-Assad Syrian Mercenaries To Africa To Guard Mines<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Via Middle East Eye<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Syrian “rebels” have been hired to fight and provide security at gold mines and factories in African countries, several rebel sources told Middle East Eye this week.<\/p>\n

Syrian fighters, who are mostly affiliated with the Syrian National Army (SNA), a coalition of armed opposition groups that works closely with\u00a0Turkey\u00a0in northern\u00a0Syria, told MEE that hundreds of fighters were deployed in Burkina Faso, Niger and Nigeria<\/strong>. There they guard Turkish-operated businesses, factories and mines<\/strong>, or provide protection services in countries where the\u00a0Islamic State\u00a0group\u00a0poses a danger<\/a>\u00a0to local security.<\/p>\n

Members of the Turkish-backed “Syrian National Army”, Anadolu\/Getty Images<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

An SNA fighter using the pseudonym Deyri, who was recruited for a mission in Africa, told MEE that the recruits weren\u2019t operating alone but in groups. \u201cThe command is not in Syrian hands. Sometimes we sign up for the protection of Turkish businesses, sometimes for fighting the Islamic State, and sometimes for guarding mines or factories,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Reports of Syrian rebels being sent to Africa first surfaced in the western media, which said they\u00a0had been given short-term combat training before deployment. MEE could not identify which organization trained the recruits.<\/p>\n

SNA members told the media that they were\u00a0recruited<\/a>\u00a0through the Sultan Murad Brigade faction, and\u00a0signed contracts<\/a>\u00a0ranging from six months to a year for a monthly salary of $1,500.<\/p>\n

According to reports, the controversial private Turkish military company SADAT\u00a0is allegedly behind<\/a>\u00a0the recruitment of SNA members for Africa. However, the company\u2019s executives frequently deny these allegations. Turkish opposition parties have long claimed that SADAT, led by a former Turkish presidential adviser, functioned as a private military company that is used in secretive Turkish state operations in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

SADAT has repeatedly denied such allegations and asked for proof. The company says it is transparently engaging states in the region for only advisory and training roles.<\/p>\n

Deyri, the rebel, said that he could not confirm the allegations regarding SADAT\u2019s involvement. \u201cI\u2019ve heard their name before, but I signed with Sultan Murat,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

At least 500 Syrian fighters sent to Africa<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rebel sources said the first group that has been deployed, in February, included at least 500 fighters, with many staying in Niger and others leaving for Nigeria and Burkina Faso<\/strong>. Those West African countries\u00a0purchased<\/a>\u00a0Turkish military-grade drones last year.<\/p>\n

The rebels’ recruitment is believed to have begun in October. Another SNA member currently in Niger, speaking under the pseudonym Mahmut, told MEE that he has been assigned a protection mission, while avoiding giving further details.<\/p>\n

Both Mahmut and Deyri said they belong to different groups within the SNA but signed their contracts with the Sultan Murad Brigade, a Turkmen division supported by Turkey.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

The rebels gave conflicting accounts of how many SNA factions were involved and how many fighters were deployed. However, they confirmed that at least five SNA groups have directed their fighters and some commanders to the three African countries.<\/p>\n

Turkey has previously deployed Syrian fighters to\u00a0Libya\u00a0to back a Tripoli-based administration<\/strong> locked in a civil conflict, and supplied them to\u00a0Azerbaijan<\/a>\u00a0when it was fighting Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh.<\/p>\n

Ankara’s use of armed drones, Syrian forces and Turkish commanders is believed to have been key to helping repel\u00a0eastern commander Khalifa Haftar\u2019s forces\u00a0from taking<\/a>\u00a0Tripoli in 2020. Similar tactics proved useful as Azerbaijan conquered\u00a0Nagorno-Karabakh<\/a>\u00a0in 2023.<\/p>\n

Turkey officially denied it deployed foreign forces to such theatres, but sources\u00a0told MEE<\/a>\u00a0in December 2019 that Ankara had planned to deploy Syrian rebel fighters in Libya to fight against Haftar’s forces.<\/p>\n

The only job sector is being a mercenary<\/strong><\/p>\n

A senior Syrian rebel commander told MEE that Turkey’s recruitment of SNA members for work in Africa has been a topic of controversy among opposition armed groups from the beginning. \u201cWe have a special alliance and brotherhood with Turkey. However, this relationship has been exploited by some greedy commanders over time<\/strong>,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany groups that maintain their revolutionary essence [against the rule of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad] and deep brotherhood and alliance with Turkey<\/strong> have not sent fighters to Libya, Azerbaijan, or any other country. The problem is that the entire SNA is being labelled as mercenaries due to the ambitions of a few commanders.\u201d<\/p>\n

A second SNA commander said he believes that\u00a0unemployment and poverty<\/a>\u00a0caused by the\u00a0prolonged war<\/a>, which affects\u00a090 percent<\/a>\u00a0of the Syrian population, has pushed fighters to work as mercenaries abroad to make a living.<\/p>\n

The commander served for many years in the Free Syrian Army, the wide coalition of opposition groups created at the beginning of the war in 2011, and then moved to areas under Turkish control after losing battles against al-Qaeda former affiliate the Nusra Front, now known as Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham.<\/p>\n

He said rebel-held areas of northern Syria had seen aid flow disrupted by Russian and Chinese pressure, referring to\u00a0UN Security Council<\/a>\u00a0votes that have imperilled relief efforts. The World Food Programme has ended its mandate for the country as of 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, an SNA fighter tries to support his family with a salary of 1,500 Turkish lira [$47], of which half is taken by commanders as kickback,\u201d the second commander said. \u201cFrom Afrin to Hasakah, from Damascus to Abu Kamal, the only job sector needing manpower nationwide is being a mercenary<\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

A lawyer in areas controlled by the opposition Syrian Interim Government in northern Syria said rebel deployments abroad\u00a0pit revolutionaries against mercenaries.<\/p>\n

\u201cCommanders who gain power and money from missions abroad have moved away from the revolution and established their small empires,\u201d he told MEE. \u201cThey stopped following the rules. They thought their crimes would be overlooked. And they were right. Turkey ignored the crimes committed,\u201d he added, in reference to the human rights violations that have been\u00a0documented<\/a>\u00a0in the parts of northern Syria controlled by the SNA.<\/p>\n

The lawyer also believes that mercenary activities have a negative impact on the cause of the Syrian revolution. \u201cThe missions outside Syria weaken the political representation of the Syrian opposition as well as its legitimacy in the public eye.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Tyler Durden<\/a><\/span>
\nSun, 06\/09\/2024 – 13:25<\/span><\/p>\n

\u200bhttps:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/geopolitical\/turkey-sends-anti-assad-syrian-mercenaries-africa-guard-mines<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Turkey Sends Anti-Assad Syrian Mercenaries To Africa To Guard Mines Via Middle East Eye Syrian “rebels” have been hired to fight and provide security at…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1470313,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1470312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbimBl-6auI","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/06\/turkeybacked-8HPsaW.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1470312","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1470312"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1470312\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1470313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1470312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1470312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1470312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}