International warnings of Turkish mercenary transfers from Syria to Libya have increased

Sherif Abdel-Zahir

Turkey’s transfer of mercenaries from the Syrian armed factions to Libya to fight alongside the militias of the Al-Wefaq government in Tripoli called for increased international warnings of the danger of the proliferation of these fighters inside Libyan territory, which could contribute to complicating the scene.

The last warnings was what the Jordanian monarch, King Abdullah II announced, during an interview with France 24, Tuesday, January 14, 2020, saying, “The transfer of nearly a thousand fighters loyal to Turkey to Libya makes the situation complicated, and everyone in the Arab region and in Europe confront it.”

King Abdullah II added that he expected the flow of these fighters to Libya to be one of the biggest threats that the world will live on in 2020, adding: “Turkey sending forces to Libya will create more confusion, I think, there has been a Russian decision that is important, and we hope that this will calm things down.”

Mercenaries flock

In a related development, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights revealed, in a statement, on Tuesday, January 14, 2020, that the total number of Syrian mercenaries, who arrived in Libya, through Turkey, amounted to one thousand militants, revealing that a new batch of mercenaries is approaching, estimated at 100 elements who belong to the Hamzat faction.

The observatory had confirmed, in a statement, on Friday, January 10, that the number of pro-Turkish militants has reached more than 1,250, after the arrival of more than 250 fighters in the first batch of the “Legion of the Levant” faction, noting that 2000 others are preparing to move to Libya in addition to about 300 other fighters from the same platoon that are being prepared to send to Libya.

Turkey seeks to strengthen the thorn of terrorist militias in Libya, by supporting them as much as possible with money and weapons, as it embraces the weak parties and militias to gather them in the face of the Libyan National Army.

Fears of increased terrorism

In a statement to the Reference, Abdel Sattar Hita, the researcher specializing in the Libyan issue, said that the fears increase with the arrival of these mercenaries from the return of the terrorist elements “ISIS” and “Al Qaeda” terrorists to Libya.

The researcher expected that the coming period will witness a great cooperation between the two terrorist organizations to launch operations inside the Libyan territories, warning of the activity of individual wolves, from launching attacks in Africa, especially Libya.