Turkish private military companies, with the support of the government, are selecting mercenaries in Syria to participate in the Karabakh conflict on the side of Azerbaijan. This is reported by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
As of September 30, according to human rights activists, at least 850 fighters were deployed to Baku. At the same time, days earlier the number of militants barely exceeded 300. Most of the mercenaries represent the Turkoman community (Syrian Turkmens, the Turkic population of northern Syria). Arab groups supporting Ankara refused to provide fighters.
The main task when sent to Azerbaijan was called the protection of individual points, but in the end they were attracted to hostilities. During the fighting in Karabakh, three mercenaries were killed who fought on the side of Azerbaijan.
At the same time, fighters from the Armenian diaspora in Syria were sent to the conflict zone, but their exact number is unknown.
Earlier, Russian diplomats confirmed that they are aware of the participation in the Karabakh conflict of terrorists from illegal armed formations of Syria and Libya. In turn, Baku announced that Yerevan was using mercenaries from the Middle East on its side. Armenia rejects these accusations.
The BBC Arab Service published an interview with a Syrian citizen who was recruited by the pro-Turkish Syrian National Army and is currently in Azerbaijan. The fighter admitted that he was offered a job to protect military facilities, for which they promised to pay two thousand dollars a month. There was no question of participation in hostilities.
The situation in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) escalated sharply on September 27. Azerbaijan reported that Armenian forces fired at its positions and settlements on the contact line and announced a counteroffensive. Armenia, in turn, blamed the Azerbaijani military for the attack on Artsakh.
In 1991, Nagorno-Karabakh, the majority of whose population were Armenians, declared independence from Azerbaijan. Baku tried to return the region by force, a war broke out. In 1994, Azerbaijan, Armenia and the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, with the mediation of Russia, signed a truce protocol. However, hostilities periodically resume.
