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Turkey is making preparations to deploy some of its Syrian proxies in Afghanistan, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on July 6.
According to the London-based monitoring group, Turkey has already agreed with the leaders of its proxy factions in Syria on the deployment process.
The Turkish intelligence will oversee the deployment and cherry-pick the militants who will be sent to Afghanistan. The militants, who are being promised a monthly salary of $2,000-3,000, will be deployed in the capital Kabul where they will secure Hamid Karzai International Airport and key government buildings.
Last month, the US, whose own troops are set to leave Afghanistan before September 11, revealed that Turkey will keep forces in Kabul mainly to secure the airport.
“Turkish intelligence will work to recruit these mercenaries into Turkish security companies with official contracts and send them there [to Kabul] officially … The Turkish side wants to play on international laws by registering these mercenaries within security companies and legitimizing their presence in Kabul in order to preserve its image,” the SOHR’s report reads.
In the past, Turkey deployed thousands of Syrian militants in Libya and Azerbaijan to support its allies and further its own interests there. In both cases, Ankara kept the deployment a secret as much as it could.
If the decision was finalized by Ankara, Syrian militants could be sent to Afghanistan as early as next September, according to the SOHR.
Turkey appears to be heading to a military adventure in Afghanistan. The Taliban has already warned Ankara against keeping any troops in the country after September 11.
