High death rate of Syrian mercenaries in Karabakh

Ali Ragab

Human losses are increasing among the Syrian armed opposition factions loyal to Turkey fighting in the Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh region on the side of Azerbaijan against the Armenian army.

The Syrian National Army announced the killing of Omar al-Jabali, commander of the 95th division of the Sultan Murad Division, after being sent by Turkey to Azerbaijan.

Jabali had previously fought for the Turkish forces in Libya, and before that in the Turkish attack on the cities of Afrin, Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain, where it was documented that he carried out field executions of civilians and was responsible for leading acts of looting, arrests and kidnappings.

Also, a military commander in the Hamza Division, Adel al-Shahir, was killed earlier, as the Turkish authorities handed over his corpse at the Jarablus crossing on October 26, along with a number of mercenaries who were killed in the Nagorno-Karabakh battles, according to the Center for Documenting Violations in Northern Syria.

Earlier, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented more human losses among the pro-Ankara mercenaries in the battles of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

The Syrian Observatory sources reported that the Syrian fighters are continuously losing lives in the battles, where 14 mercenaries were killed within a matter of hours.

The Observatory said that a new batch of 20 mercenary corpses who were killed in Nagorno-Karabakh arrived in Syria, specifically to areas of Turkish influence and the factions north of Aleppo.

The death toll of mercenaries sent by the Turkish government since the end of September has risen to at least 231 people, including 183 dead whose bodies were brought back to Syria, while the bodies of the rest are still in Azerbaijan.

The Syrian mercenaries, along with the Azerbaijani forces, are participating in the ongoing fighting against the regional forces and Armenia, after they were brought in by Ankara, Baku’s ally in the conflict.

Although Azerbaijan, an ally of Turkey, denied the presence of Syrian mercenaries, evidence has increased regarding their presence and their involvement in the battles. The United States, Russia and France have expressed their concern about the role of Turkish mercenaries in the conflict.

On the other hand, a joint statement issued by major powers said on Friday evening, October 30 that the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed on a set of urgent steps to solve the conflict between them in the Nagorno-Karabakh region after holding talks.

The statement, issued by envoys from Russia, France and the United States, added that the two ministers met in Geneva and agreed not to deliberately target civilians, to start a process for exchanging bodies on the battlefield, and to present lists of prisoners and detainees within a week with the aim of exchanging them.

It also indicated that the two countries would continue to discuss issues “related to possible mechanisms to verify the ceasefire.”