Erdogan’s hirelings falling one after another in Libya

Indiana Khaled

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan uses the coronavirus pandemic around the world in maintaining its support to terrorist groups outside his country, including in Syria and Libya.

A video posted recently to social media shows soldiers from the Libyan National Army questioning a group of Syrian hirelings sent to Libya by Turkey.

The hirelings confess that they had been recruited by Turkish intelligence in the refugee camps of the northeastern Syrian cities of Aleppo and Idlib.

They added that Turkey pays them $2,000 a month, in return for fighting alongside the militias of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA).

One of the mercenaries questioned concedes that he belongs to al-Nusra Front.

“I advise Syrians not to come to Libya,” the man said. “We were deceived for $2,000 a month.”

Growing deaths

On April 15, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the number of Syrian mercenaries killed in Libya had risen to 190.

Turkey continues to send mercenaries to Libya in contravention of United Nations resolutions, the observatory said.

It documented the death of eight hirelings. The observatory also revealed that Turkey had sent a new batch of Syrian fighters to Tripoli to abet the GNA.

It said so far, Turkey had sent 5,050 mercenaries from Syria to Libya.

Over 70 Turkish drones had so far been shot down by the Libyan National Army, according to lieutenant general, Khaled al-Mahjoub, the head of the Moral Support Department of the army.