Libya: a gateway to Europe for 2000 Syrian fighters

The flow of Syrian militiamen fleeing the war in Libya towards Europe continues. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), which already reported the first cases of defections last February, has presented a new report in which it places the number of combatants who have left the North African country for EU soil at around 2000.

What are the reasons behind this mass exodus? They are varied, but unfulfilled expectations represent a very important component. Most of the Syrian fighters posted in Libya have arrived there thanks to Turkey, which needs reinforcements to support the Tripoli administration. In return for the services provided, they would be entitled to wages, certain living conditions and even Turkish nationality; premises which are generally not being met.

The government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been sending hundreds of militiamen from warlike groups in Syria to the conflict in and around Tripoli for months. Most of these mercenaries were formed in the orbit of terrorist groups of jihadist aetiology, within the multiple brigades that have been fighting the regime of Bachar al-Asad; a power that Turkey also fights on the ground.

Given its experience in combat in harsh environments, Ankara, by virtue of the agreements it maintains with these groups, has transferred hundreds of its members to the front line in the Libyan capital, where the Government of National Accord (GNA) of Fayez Sarraj is resisting the offensive of the rebel marshal Khalifa Haftar, in command of the Libyan National Army (LNA).

In addition to the nominal support of the United Nations, Qatar and Turkey have been the main sources of financial, arms and political support for the GNA. The Syrian militiamen are only a part of the troops provided by the Turkish Executive, which, likewise, has been sending military from its own Armed Forces to Libya for months with the aim of ensuring some influence over the Government of Tripoli -where the Muslim Brotherhood have a strong presence- in order to have access to the country's hydrocarbon resources.

According to the SOHR itself, Turkey has deployed more than 5,000 Syrian fighters in Libya since last December. The figures, in the worst case scenario, could rise to 17,000, according to The Investigative Journal. Their warfare has often been accompanied by acts of looting, rape and murder, as evidenced by the latest campaign by the ANG between the country's capital and the Tunisian border.

Many, however, in view of the bleak picture that the African country presents, choose to escape to the European Union. Freelance journalist Lindsey Snell, who specialises in the conflict in Libya, recently had the opportunity to interview a former combatant who defected from the Ahrar al-Sharqiya faction of the Syrian National Army, an armed partner organisation of Turkey with branches in North Africa. 

According to his testimony, Turkey soon stopped paying him and his comrades-in-arms the agreed wages, and they were also not allowed to return to their home country after three months of service, as stipulated at the beginning. They were also promised that they would be able to obtain Turkish citizenship if they stayed at the front for six months. If they fell in combat, it would be their relatives who would acquire these rights. None of this was fulfilled. Many were disappointed and began to look for ways to leave Libya.

The illegal entry of these fighters into the European Union via the Mediterranean certainly poses a security risk that must be taken into account. The fact that they have decided to cut their ties with Turkey does not mean that their loyalty to the groups they are part of has been diluted. Many are therefore likely to retain internally the jihadist ideology that drove them to join the fighting.

On April 21, Abdel Majed Abdel Bary, one of the most wanted foreign fighters in Europe, was arrested in Almeria. A veteran of the central years of the war in Syria, when Daesh reached his peak of power, he ended up leaving the ranks of the jihadist group and spent some time in Turkey. The investigation is still underway, but the first information provided by the Ministry of the Interior indicated that it was considered probable that he had arrived in Spain from North Africa. 

The case of Abdel Bary is an example of how this route (Syria-Turkey-Libya-European Union) is a route that poses a significant danger to the entire Mediterranean region, with the indispensable collaboration of the Erdogan government.