Türkiye Sends New Batch of Syrian Mercenaries to Libya

 Part of a military training for Libyan forces monitored by Turkish officers in the outskirts of Tripoli. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Part of a military training for Libyan forces monitored by Turkish officers in the outskirts of Tripoli. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Türkiye Sends New Batch of Syrian Mercenaries to Libya

 Part of a military training for Libyan forces monitored by Turkish officers in the outskirts of Tripoli. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Part of a military training for Libyan forces monitored by Turkish officers in the outskirts of Tripoli. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Türkiye has sent a new batch of Syrian mercenaries to Libya, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on Thursday.

The war monitor said a Turkish aircraft took off from the capital Ankara carrying Syrian mercenaries which Turkish intelligence recruits. They arrived in Misrata to take part in the Libyan war.

On September 13, the SOHR reported heavy mass discontent among the Syrian mercenaries in Libya due to the discrimination between the commanders and the mercenaries.

This came against the backdrop of delaying the transfer of the corps of a Syrian young man from al-Sultan Murad armed faction to be buried in northwestern Syria, where his family sought refuge.

The Turkish forces kept his body in the refrigerator for nearly a week until the return of several commanders of Turkish-backed factions.

According to the war monitor, Ankara resumed in August the back-and-forth transfer of Syrian mercenaries operating in Libya following the decision in late June to halt the transfer process until the end of 2022.

It revealed that nearly 420 Syrian mercenaries were sent back to Syria from Libya via Türkiye.

A previous SOHR report also stated that the Turkish intelligence asked leaders of the Syrian factions loyal to it to keep their members fully prepared to be transferred to Libya once requested.

Thousands of Turkish forces have been sent to Libya to fight along dozens of mercenaries from armed factions loyal to Türkiye.

This comes in line with the memorandum of understanding on security and military cooperation signed in November 2019 between Türkiye and the Government of National Accord (GNA) then headed by Fayez al-Sarraj.

In this context, Itamilradar, which specializes in monitoring military aircraft movements over Italy and Mediterranean Sea, tracked three Turkish Air Force flights to Misrata.

It reported tracking three flights that took off from Ankara and arrived in Misrata and al-Watiya in western Libya.

Türkiye considers its military presence in Libya “legal.”

Ankara says its presence in Libya is aimed at helping the country establish a unified army that brings together all the forces from the east and west under one umbrella.

The Turkish parliament approved in June to extend the armed forces' mandate in Libya for another 18 months from July 2, at the request of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

It argues that its efforts to build democratic institutions following the February 2011 incidents were in vain due to the armed conflicts that led to the emergence of a fragmented administrative structure in the country.



At Least 15 Killed in Suicide Bombing at Damascus Church

A Syrian man reacts inside Mar Elias church where a suicide bomber detonated himself in Dweila in the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Sunday June 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
A Syrian man reacts inside Mar Elias church where a suicide bomber detonated himself in Dweila in the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Sunday June 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
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At Least 15 Killed in Suicide Bombing at Damascus Church

A Syrian man reacts inside Mar Elias church where a suicide bomber detonated himself in Dweila in the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Sunday June 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
A Syrian man reacts inside Mar Elias church where a suicide bomber detonated himself in Dweila in the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Sunday June 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)

At least 15 people were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the Mar Elias Church in the Dweila neighborhood of Syria's capital Damascus on Sunday, security sources said.

Syria's interior ministry said the suicide bomber was an ISIS member. He entered the church, opened fire and then detonated his explosive vest, the ministry added in a statement.

A security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said two men were involved in the attack, including the one who blew himself up.

Syria's state news agency cited the health ministry as putting the preliminary casualty toll at nine dead and 13 injured.

Some local media reported that children were among the casualties.

A livestream from the site by Syria's civil defense, the White Helmets, showed scenes of destruction from within the church, including a bloodied floor and shattered church pews and masonry.

Syrian Information Minister Hamza Mostafa condemned the attack, calling it a terrorist attack.

“This cowardly act goes against the civic values that brings us together,” he said in a post on X. “We will not back down from our commitment to equal citizenship ... and we also affirm the state’s pledge to exert all its efforts to combat criminal organizations and to protect society from all attacks threatening its safety.”