Turkey is sending Syrian rebel fighters to support Azerbaijan in its escalating conflict with neighbouring Armenia, two Syrian rebels have said, as Ankara pledges to step up backing for its majority-Muslim ally.
FILE PHOTO: Azeri men living in Turkey wave flags of Turkey and Azerbaijan during a protest following clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia, in Istanbul, Turkey, July 19, 2020. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo
Armenia also said Turkish military experts were fighting alongside Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous breakaway region of Azerbaijan run by ethnic Armenians, and that Turkey had provided drones and warplanes. They declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue. Reuters could not independently verify their accounts.“I didn’t want to go, but I don’t have any money. Life is very hard and poor,” said a fighter who had fought in Syria for Ahrar al-Sham, a group that Turkey has supported.Both men said they had been told by their Syrian brigade commanders they would earn around $1,500 a month - a large wage for Syria, where the economy and currency have collapsed.
The other fighter, from the SNA-affiliated Jaish al-Nukhba militia, said he had been told nearly 1,000 Syrians were set to be deployed to Azerbaijan. Other rebels, who also declined to be named, gave figures of between 700 and 1,000.The two men, who spoke to Reuters last week, said they expected to be despatched on Sept. 25, to guard facilities but not to fight. Reuters was not able to contact them on Monday to confirm their location.
Turkey has repeatedly said it is also ready to provide support to Azerbaijan, with which it has strong historical and cultural ties and runs joint energy projects.Defence Minister Hulusi Akar attended joint military drills in Azerbaijan in August, and Erdogan used his speech to the United Nations General Assembly last week to accuse Armenia of attacking its neighbour.to a record low against the dollar on Monday.
Turkey has already used Syrian fighters to help block an assault on the Libyan capital Tripoli earlier this year by General Khalifa Haftar’s eastern-based Libyan National Army, backed by Russia among others.
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