Over 11,000 Turkish-backed Syrian mercenaries still in Libya – report

Over 11,000 Turkish-backed Syrian mercenaries remain in Libya despite a ceasefire agreement that calls for the withdrawal of all foreign fighters, the Libya Review reported on Saturday, citing leaked documents.

Turkey withdrew 1,226 out of 12,835 mercenaries sent from Syria to the oil-rich North African countries, according to documents, obtained by Sky News Arabia, the newspaper said.

Turkey has been accused of deploying several thousand mercenaries to the war-torn country to bolster its support for the U.N.-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) in its fight against Libyan general Khalifa Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA).

The two sides in October signed a ceasefire agreement, which stipulates the withdrawal of all foreign fighters from the war torn country, leaving uncertain the future of the estimated 10,000 Syrian National Army (SNA) mercenaries brought to Libya by Turkey as part of a military agreement with the GNA.

The report highlighted how the mercenaries entered Turkey through southern border gates with Syria, before being sent to Libya.

The head of the Libyan Presidential Council, Mohammed al-Menfi, last month issued a formal request for Turkey to withdraw Syrian mercenaries and Turkish military experts from Libya over the next 10 days, the Libya Review reported.