Syrian mercenaries have suffered more casualties in Nagorno-Karabakh than in Libya

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a non-governmental organisation opposing the Al-Asad regime, has announced, according to its sources, that the number of mercenaries of Syrian origin who have died in the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh now exceeds the number of deaths in the Libyan conflict.

The Syrian mercenaries have become yet another tool in Turkey's service to interfere in the development of some of the conflicts in the region in which Ankara is directly or indirectly involved. The result it has achieved with them in Libya, by confronting the LNA and liberating Tripoli, has encouraged Turkey to use them also to support the Azeris in the fight against Armenia.

According to the SOHR, whose headquarters are in the United Kingdom, the number of Syrian mercenaries killed in Nagorno-Karabakh is 541, whereas in the Libyan conflict the figure is around a hundred less. The Observatory warns that the figure could be higher, but that these figures have yet to be confirmed. According to the information provided by this organisation, Turkey is said to have sent nearly 3,000 Syrian fighters to fight on the side of the Azeri armed forces.

Although the worst of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan has passed, thanks to Russia's mediation, Turkey still has over 800 mercenaries of Syrian origin in the region, waiting to know whether they will be transferred in the coming weeks or whether they will remain there longer, as Azerbaijan has opposed their establishment in the High Karabakh region. The figure is much lower than the number of Syrian mercenaries involved in the Libyan conflict, which the Observatory itself puts at over 15,000.

For the mercenaries themselves, this has become a way of life given the economic situation Syria is going through after years of instability and conflict. The mercenaries receive a salary that could range from 1,000 to 3,000 dollars, in addition to payments in Turkish lira that could range from 600 to 1,000, although some mercenaries state that some of the payments are still pending. Economic assistance is even contemplated in the event of receiving injuries and, on death, the family also receives an economic endowment. As for the repatriation of the combatants' bodies, it is estimated that over three hundred have already returned to Syria.