Turkey and Russia are paying Syrians to fight in opposing sides in Libya’s civil war, EDNews.net reports citing Ahval News.
Turkey has reportedly been sending Syrian militants – some with ties to extremist groups – into Libya to support the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) over the past few months in its fight against the rebel General Khlaifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA).
A recent United Nations investigation has found that Russia is also sending Syrian fighters into Libya – but to back Haftar. The Washington Times cited a report on Wednesday by Bloomberg, which claimed to have viewed a U.N. panel report on mercenaries in Libya.
Bloomberg said the U.N. report found Russia had recently flown in as many as 2,000 Syrians to support Haftar, and that that Syrians in the town of Douma were being recruited on an $800 monthly salary.
The Washington Times also cited an article by Foreign Policy on Tuesday which said that Russia began turning to Syria for fighters in March after Turkey had already “flooded” Libya’s war with its own Syrian proxies.