SOHR Reports at Least 107 Jihadist Mercenaries Killed in Nagorno-Karabakh Battles

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reports that the death toll of the Turkish-backed Syrian Jihadist mercenaries fighting in Azerbaijan is rising, SOHR activists have documented the death of 26 Syrian fighters who were killed in the past 48 hours in raging battles in the Nagorno-Karabakh on the side of Azerbaijan against Armenia. Accordingly, the total number of fatalities among the Turkish-backed Syrian mercenaries since Turkey threw them into the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia has reached 107.

On the other hand, reliable sources have informed SOHR that the Turkish government is preparing over 400 fighters of “Sultan Murad”, “Al-Hamzat Division” and other factions in order to  transport to Azerbaijan in the next hours and days. It is worth noting that the number of Syrian fighters in Azerbaijan has risen to nearly 1,450, after the Turkish government had sent a batch of some 250 fighters last week.

A few days ago, SOHR sources said that Turkish security companies and Turkish intelligence continue to transfer and train large numbers of fighters of Turkish-backed factions to join the fighting in Azerbaijan. Most of those fighters are Syrians of Turkmen descent.

These reports indicate that the Turkish government has turned the occupied region in Afrin and surrounding areas into recruiting and training camps from which the Islamic jihadists are transferred to countries where the Turkish government is looking to expand its influence.

Recruitment, training, and deployment of Islamist extremists by the Turkish state under the Erdogan regime is an old instrument of the new expansionist and nationalist Turkish policy. The mercenaries have become the unlawful partners of the official Turkish regime through their access to structures of state power and resources, and the Turkish state even grants them immunity from international law. Thus, the Turkish regime sponsors and constitutes a radical Islamist army.

Across much of the region, Islamist extremists have become the new face of Turkey’s aggressive expansionist policy, causing violent conflicts, chaos, and intervention.

One of the generals of the SNA, Ziyad Haci Ubeyd, has publicly stated that 70,000 SNA fighters are ready to fight for the Turkish interests and security wherever they are required. He conceded that they are already in Azerbaijan fighting against the Armenian forces and, thus, returning the favor for the support provided by Turkey.