By RFIPosted on 31-12-2019 Modified on 31-12-2019 at 00:50

In Libya, reports of the presence of Syrian mercenaries sent by Turkey are increasing. Videos appeared this weekend, testifying to their presence in Tripoli where the forces loyal to Fayez el-Sarraj are in difficulty in front of the offensive of Marshal Khalifa Haftar.

Anonymous sources at Mitiga Airport in Tripoli testify to the heavy movement of fighters from Turkey on unregistered flights.

According to various sources contacted by RFI, it was the Libyan airline Afriqiyah Airways and the airline al-Ajniha, owned by Abdelhakim Belhaj , a jihadist resident in Turkey, who transported these fighters from Turkey to Tripoli. Their objective: to lend a hand to the Islamist militias, loyal to the Government of national unity . Between Friday and Sunday, four planes landed at Matiga airport, disembarking Syrian fighters from brigades loyal to Ankara.

" We have come to defend Islam in Libya, we are the free army ," insists a fighter with a Syrian accent in one of the first videos which testifies to this presence.

In a statement released on Sunday, the Libyan National Unity Government denied the presence of these Syrian fighters in Libya, saying that the video was made in Raqqa, Syria. However, actors from Libyan civil society note elements on the video which would indicate that it was filmed in Libya near the Tekbali military camp recently taken over by opponents of Khalifa Haftar's forces.

On social networks, pages dedicated to the Syrian revolution announce the death of people who died in Libya, " martyrs who defended the Mujahideen of Tripoli ".

Reached by RFI, Rami Abdel Rahmane, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH) says that at least 500 Syrian fighters are already in Libya. According to him, a thousand others have been transported to Turkey and should, in turn, be sent to Tripoli.

“ Registration desks are open for combatants wishing to go and fight in Libya, in the areas under Turkish occupation in the north of Syria, precisely in Afrin. Now, we are sure that combatants belonging to the so-called "national army", these forces loyal to Turkey, have been transferred to Libya. There are at least 500 fighters who are already in Libya. Hundreds of others are preparing to go there. In reality, they are only mercenaries because they are fighting outside of Syria, in the service of Turkey, not for a cause but simply for money , "he underlines.

" These combatants are transported first to Gaziantep, near the Syrian border, and are then sent to several airports from where they are transported to Libya. They fight in the framework of Turkish private security companies. Turkey will not send its army as long as it finds mercenaries ready to do the work in Libya, "added Rami Abdel Rahmane.

Last week, Khalifa Haftar's military command said that 11 Syrians had died near Sirte. Aviation then aimed at a position of the Misrata militias.

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