Erdogan sells deception of working in Qatar to tempt mercenaries

Shaimaa Yahya

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Qatari ally continue to use all dishonest means to reach their goals and ambitions, even by deceiving their own loyalists. A Saudi channel showed a video clip revealing the details of the Turkish president’s deception of the Syrian mercenaries loyal to him and his exploitation of them to fight against the Libyan National Army (LNA) and support the militias of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) led by Fayez al-Sarraj.

The Saudi channel Midad News showed a video report entitled “Protecting Qatar: Turkey’s trick to transfer mercenaries to Libya”, explaining that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights uncovered the Turkish president’s conspiracy and what he did to dozens of Syrian mercenaries when he told them that they would travel on an “easy” mission, only to find themselves on the front line against the LNA. Turkish intelligence deceived militants from the pro-Turkish Syrian factions and made an agreement with them to protect civil institutions in Qatar.

The report added that after the mercenaries left Afrin, they later realized that their true destination was Libya, not Qatar, with the aim of supporting the GNA militias in a proxy war for a measly fee. These militants came from the Suleyman Shah Brigade, Sham Legion, and Sultan Murad Division.

According to the statistics from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the number of mercenaries sent by Turkey to Libya so far has reached about 17,000 militants of Syrian nationality, among them 350 children under the age of 18. Ankara has also sent 10,000 armed non-Syrians, including 2,500 of Tunisian nationality, belonging to ISIS and al-Qaeda. The pro-Turkish factions returned about 6,000 to Syria after the end of their contracts, while Turkey continues to bring more mercenary factions to its camps in order to train them.

Illusion

Rami Abdul Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, revealed the details of the deceptive methods used by the Turkish intelligence on the Syrian mercenaries, referring to a Qatari role in hosting and training the militants before sending them to fight in Libya.

Abdul Rahman said in an interview with Sky News Arabia on Saturday, August 14 that Turkey deceived the Syrian mercenaries by supposedly transporting them to Qatar to guard government institutions but then throwing them into the war in Libya.

“They were told that the operation was related to going to Qatar to guard government facilities in exchange for a monthly salary of $3,000, but once they arrived in Turkey through the Suleyman Shah and Sultan Murad factions loyal to Turkish intelligence, they were told that the destination would be Libya with a monthly salary of $2,000,” he added.

Death and starvation

Now the mercenaries loyal to Ankara are living in a state of fear and terror in Libya. The French website Africa Intelligence confirmed that there is a state of anger among elements of the GNA militias and mercenaries affiliated with Turkey due to the deterioration of living conditions, especially since their leaders leave them in the desert exposed to dangers without providing them with aid or supplies. A number of them have died because of starvation and high temperatures.

Ankara’s deception of the mercenaries adds to the dark reality they are living in Libya and increases the possibilities of expanding the circle of defections and the occurrence of rebellion against the Turkish leadership and its arm represented by the GNA. It was confirmed by Africa Intelligence that there is a state of outrage among the mercenaries, which the leaders of the GNA’s militias did not disclose for fear of showing failure. The website pointed out that a number of terrorist elements affiliated with the GNA fled after a number of them died from starvation, stressing that a number of the GNA militias are heading towards defection and could join the LNA.