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NEW - The 1st #Syria casualty in #Azerbaijan has been confirmed by @HousseinAk:
- A former Thuwar al-Sham ( #FSA) fighters previously forced from his home by #HTS. He was recruited (by #Turkey) from northern #Aleppo. https://twitter.com/HousseinAk/status/1310978787014840324
- A former Thuwar al-Sham ( #FSA) fighters previously forced from his home by #HTS. He was recruited (by #Turkey) from northern #Aleppo. https://twitter.com/HousseinAk/status/1310978787014840324
Just days after it was confirmed that #Syria men were indeed fighting in #Azerbaijan & 1-2 had already been killed, information is now spreading that in fact 20-30 may already be dead -- recruited by a #Turkish private military contractor & the prospect of huge salaries.
For yrs now, #Turkey has had a massive field of young men to prey upon to pursue #Ankara's interests.
10,000s of prospective #Syrian recruits lay in refugee & IDP camps, desperate for an income & a personal sense of purpose -- an invaluable & deeply vulnerable asset for #Turkey.
10,000s of prospective #Syrian recruits lay in refugee & IDP camps, desperate for an income & a personal sense of purpose -- an invaluable & deeply vulnerable asset for #Turkey.
In the wake of (a) Nusra's expulsion of #FSA groups from the NW & (b) #America's pivot to the #YPG- #SDF, #Turkey was also gifted dozens of [depleted] rebel factions & their leaders, most [in ~2016] lacking an operational role or sources of financial, military or intel support.
In response, #Turkey pounced & sought to take control of & revitalize the pre-existing rebel factions (who'd been defeated/expelled by #Nusra and/or #ISIS) by filling their ranks with new recruits, drafted in from refugee & IDP camps.
In so doing, #Turkey built the #SNA.
In so doing, #Turkey built the #SNA.
The #SNA *is* made up of long-existing #FSA factions but the *vast* majority of its actual fighting force are not veteran anti- #Assad fighters -- they walked into #Turkey's proxy army to confront the #SDF & (*in their eyes*) liberate their territory (in N. #Aleppo, #Raqqa, Deir).
This #Turkey-controlled force was the backbone for #Turkey's Euphrates Shield, #Afrin & Northeast interventions -- but with those objectives met & a delicate #Turkey- #Russia/ #Assad detente in place, #Ankara's goals expanded to encompass region-wide geopolitical rivalries.
The #SNA has been guilty of widespread abuses in northern #Syria & is now forming the basis for #Turkey's foreign interventions in #Libya & #Azerbaijan -- in large part because of the chaotic nature of northern #Syria's conflict & the intractable IDP & refugee crisis there.
Some have presented the #SNA as a "jihadist" force -- which is nothing short of absurd, given its intrinsic ties w. #Turkey (seen by both #AlQaeda & #ISIS as the exemplification of kufr) & internal identity.
They're a hodgepodge of pro- #Turkey militiamen largely in it for money.
They're a hodgepodge of pro- #Turkey militiamen largely in it for money.
More than anything, the fact that #Turkey's in a position to prey upon 10,000s of #Syrian men to do its bidding is a tragic result of the chaos that's been left to unfold for 9+ yrs.
Worse still, #Syria's displaced aren't returning home -- their vulnerability will only increase.
Worse still, #Syria's displaced aren't returning home -- their vulnerability will only increase.
As always, there's tons of detail worthy of additional inclusion in the above thread -- Twitter is an imperfect platform for detailed & nuanced information.
But these are the key points worth bearing in mind when looking at the #Turkey- #SNA dynamic vis-a-vis #Libya/ #Azerbaijan.
But these are the key points worth bearing in mind when looking at the #Turkey- #SNA dynamic vis-a-vis #Libya/ #Azerbaijan.
One more note in this thread -- #FSA commander Sayf Abu Bakr is *not* a former #ISIS commander. In fact, he was with Harakat Hazm ('13-15) & jailed by #ISIS, before founding (with U.S. support) the Hamza Division ('16).
cc. @AlMonitor @thedailybeast & others who claim otherwise.
cc. @AlMonitor @thedailybeast & others who claim otherwise.
The #Syrian Islamic Council has issued a statement against #SNA fighters joining combat outside #Syria (i.e. #Libya & #Azerbaijan).
The SIC has opposed (& worked against) foreign deployments all along, but this is the 1st time it's said so publicly. https://twitter.com/syrian_ic/status/1311941321700052995
The SIC has opposed (& worked against) foreign deployments all along, but this is the 1st time it's said so publicly. https://twitter.com/syrian_ic/status/1311941321700052995
