During and after the Second Artsakh War (Autumn 2020), a number of authoritative international structures, heads of state, and other high-ranking officials, a number of authoritative international media announced the fact of the participation of Syrian mercenaries on behalf of Azerbaijan.
Such statements were distributed by the President of France, the Head of Foreign Intelligence of the Russian Federation, the Russian Foreign Ministry, the Pentagon, etc.
They confirm the fact that Turkey has actively participated in the transfer of mercenaries recruited from various terrorist groups to Azerbaijan. Before and during the war, the US Embassy in Azerbaijan reported a high probability of terrorist attacks in Azerbaijan and urged US citizens not to visit crowded places.
The U.S. Embassy in Azerbaijan
09.08.2020 – Before the start of the war the US Embassy in Azerbaijan recognized that there are terrorist groups in Azerbaijan and urges American citizens to “reconsider travel to Azerbaijan due to COVID-19 and terrorism concerns”.
Azerbaijan has a longstanding risk presented by terrorist groups, who continue plotting possible attacks in Azerbaijan. Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, local government facilities, hotels, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, parks, major sporting and cultural events, educational institutions, airports, and other public areas.
French President Emmanuel Macron
01.10.2020 – French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed that more than 300 radical Islamists from Syria were transferred to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone through Turkish Gaziantep.
“We now have information which indicates that Syrian fighters from jihadist groups have (transited) through Gaziantep (southeastern Turkey) to reach the Nagorno-Karabakh theatre of operations. It is a very serious new fact, which changes the situation”, – Reuters.
Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service
06.10.2020 – According to the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service mercenaries from international terrorist organizations in the Middle East, in particular from Jabhat an-Nusra [23 countries and organizations, including the USA, Russian Federation, France, United Kingtom, Canada, have listed al-Nusra Front as a terrorist organization], Firqat al-Hamza (Hamza division), Sultan Murad, as well as from Kurdish extremist groups, have been dispatched to the Karabakh conflict zone. “We are talking about hundreds, even thousands, of radicals hoping to make money in the new Karabakh war,” said Sergei Naryshkin, head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service.
This isn’t the first time Turkey has sent their Syrian mercenaries into foreign conflicts. Since December 2019, as part of an agreement with the Tripoli-based, UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), Turkey has been sending SNA militants to buttress GNA-affiliated militias against the rival Libyan National Army (LNA), led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar. SNA militants signed up for deployment en masse, lured by promises of salaries around $2000 a month, exponentially more than the ~$100 such fighters would receive in Syria.
MFA of Russian Federation
According to incoming reports, militants from illegal armed units are being moved to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone from Syria and Libya to take a direct part in the hostilities.
US Defense Department
01.10.2020, SkyNewsarabia – A high-ranking official in the US Defense Department confirmed the validity of the information that spoke about sending hundreds of Syrian mercenaries from Turkey to support Azerbaijan in its conflict with Armenia.
“The reports and information that spoke about dozens of trips between Turkey and Azerbaijan in the past days to transport hundreds of Syrian mercenaries are proven and correct,” said the official.
The Guardian
The Guardian spoke to three men living in the last rebel-controlled corner of Syria, who said that almost a decade of war and grinding poverty had made them keen to register with militia leaders and brokers who promised work with a private Turkish security company overseas. They expect to travel over the border to Turkey before being flown to Azerbaijan.
28.09.2020
