SOHR: Growing unrest among Syrian mercenaries in Libya

SOHR: Growing unrest among Syrian mercenaries in Libya
Publish:
A+ A-
Mercenaries fighting for the National Accord Government are about to organize a protest against Turkish officers because of bad conditions and possible changes in Turkey's Syrian policy.

There is a growing unrest among the Syrian mercenaries serving under Turkish command in Libya because of recent remarks by Turkish officials signaling a radical change in Turkey's Syrian policy and serious delays in payments, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported.

According to SOHR, the members of the “National Army” in Al-Yarmouk camp, located in the capital of Tripoli, are preparing to organize demonstrations against the Turkish authorities for not being paid and in protest over Turkey's attempts of reconciliation with the Syrian administration.

The tensions between the mercenaries and Turkish officers have reportedly escalated as the mercenaries have also been prevented from taking vacations and traveling to Syria.

Some mercenaries have been serving in Libya for about two years without vacation leaves, SOHR said.

Escalations have been reported particularly within the factions of “Sultan Murad” and “Suqour al-Sham” groups as their leaders reportedly pocket salaries of the mercenaries and deny them food allowances.

SOHR also said that two mercenaries fled the camp in coordination with smugglers to travel to Algeria in order to reach Europe, but the brother of one of the fugitives was arrested by Turkish authorities to pressure the fugitive to return.