|
Trending Topics
|
Syrian Mercenaries Fight on Foreign Battlefields
(Ha'aretz) Zvi Bar'el - More than 45,000 Syrians have registered with the Russian Army at Khmeimim Airbase in Latakia to enlist for military action in Libya. Tens of thousands of their compatriots are already there, recruited by the Russian private military contractor Wagner Group. A Syrian fighter who returned from Libya told Beirut-based Raseef22 news that anyone between the ages of 18 and 58 is eligible to enlist. Guards earn $1,000 a month, while combat soldiers receive three times more. They work for three months straight, after which they receive a month-long paid vacation in Syria. Turkey is also sending Syrian militiamen under its patronage to fight on the other side in Libya, and is recruiting Syrian refugees living within its borders as well. Moreover, Turkey has sent 1,200 Syrian fighters, mostly belonging to the Turkmen ethnic group, to aid Azeri forces in Nagorno-Karabakh.