A Turkish personal army firm has recruited 1000’s of fighters to journey to West Africa as mercenaries to signify Turkey’s pursuits in Niger and different West African nations, a report by the AFP stated on Thursday.
The fighters, in response to Syrian media organisation Enab Baladi, are recruited from inside the ranks of Turkey’s proxy in North and East Syria, the Syrian Nationwide Military (SNA). They then journey by way of Turkey’s borders, and onwards to West Africa.
The Sultan Murad division of the SNA, which is led by Fahim Issa, reportedly works as a recruiter for SADAT Worldwide Protection Consultancy. Sultan Murad is the biggest division of the SNA, numbering as much as 80,000. Recruits report being paid $1,000 or $1,500 a month. It’s reported that the recruiting shouldn’t be confined to the division’s ranks however is open to civilian recruits too.
In line with the experiences, mercenaries are merely requested for proof of ID earlier than being despatched off to West Africa. One recruit informed media company Enab Baladi that recruits are informed to collect within the Aleppo countryside, or in Idlib close to the Deir Ballut inside crossing, to be picked up by vehicles from the Sultan Murad division. The recruitment is claimed to be managed by the division commander Fahim Issa himself, and contracts to be signed by the fighters for a interval of between six months and 1.5 years.
The SNA has beforehand been used as a channel for fighters in conflicts in Libya and Azerbaijan.
One recruit informed the AFP information company that contracts have been signed within the SADAT workplaces and that the personal army firm handles all the prices and lodging logistics for the fighters. The fighter, named Ömer, stated that he was taken to Gaziantep and onward to Istanbul earlier than boarding a jet to Burkina Faso after which lastly to a camp in Niger. Ömer was informed to make sure safety for a mine; he stated that others have been despatched to “struggle Boko Haram.” Nonetheless, Enab Baladi’s supply stated that the mission of the Syrian fighters was “unclear” however famous that a number of the goals are “to guard the Turkish bases in Africa, or to protect Turkish exploration groups which have signed contracts with these nations for gold mining there, and the second narrative is preventing”.
Rami Abdulrahman, the pinnacle of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, stated that an estimated 50 Syrian fighters had been killed in West Africa.
The Turkish Defence Ministry has flatly denied any data of the fighters. However analysts have identified that the Turkish state is turning into more and more near the army junta that got here to energy in Niger in July 2023. Turkey and Niger have signed a army cooperation deal, and Niger has bought Turkish armed drones.
