After implementing the Turkish occupation’s agendas, members of the “National Army” factions are left to their fate in northern Syria

Khalil Abdul Rahman – Aleppo countryside

The Turkish occupation authorities worked to exploit the difficult living situation suffered by the majority of Syrians in the regions of northern Syria to recruit them militarily for their benefit, as they prepared, trained and sent thousands of mercenaries from members of their affiliated factions, in the occupied areas to fight alongside them in battles outside the country, such as Libya and Azerbaijan. Which caused the death and injury of hundreds of them, but one of the most prominent consequences of these battles was that many of them suffered severe injuries that caused them permanent physical disabilities, so that Turkey currently leaves them facing their fate without any interest in supporting them and helping them live amid difficult humanitarian conditions.

Ibrahim Al-Hassan (a pseudonym), a former member of Sultan Suleiman Shah faction, told Aso News Network: “My harsh living conditions forced me to join the fight in Libya. I have three children and there are no job opportunities within my place of residence in the countryside of the city of Afrin, so I went with About 100 members to Turkey, where we were received by the Turks for safety, who took us to Gaziantep, where we participated in a military course for 20 days, and then from there we were transported via a civilian plane to Libya.

He added, “I did not expect the situation to be as I saw it. The battles were very violent, and the Turkish officers were pushing Syrian youth into the battles, and they were content with sending Turkish experts and some soldiers, while the officers were in the back lines. They promised me $2,000 a month, so I accepted without hesitation so that I and my family could live.” But the surprise was that the clashes were very intense and a small number were pushed to the fighting axes.

He continues by saying: “During the battle, as a result of missiles falling near us, I was injured by shrapnel throughout my body. I was exposed to several fractures and deformities, so I was transferred to Turkey, where I had two operations, but there is still shrapnel in my back, because it requires very careful surgery so that it does not cause me to be completely paralyzed.” Since that day, I have been suffering from an inability to make any effort, so I left the faction and am no longer able to work.

He added, saying: “Turkey left us without any help, and the matter did not stop there only, but they only paid us half of the salaries that we had agreed upon, and the leadership of Suleiman Shah faction, specifically the so-called “Abu Amsha” and his brother, stole from every member an amount of 200 dollars.

The former member of “Suleiman Shah” faction explains that he is now living in a miserable living and health situation, after Turkey and the leadership of the faction abandoned him, and that this situation applies to many who participated in the battles of Libya and Azerbaijan and were injured in them.

In turn, Farid Al-Qasim (60 years old), the father of a member of “Sultan Murad” faction, said to Aso News Network: “My son asked me to agree to his going to Libya when battles were taking place, but I categorically refused that, and prevented him from going even though he told me that there are hundreds who will go there, despite the attractive salaries that Turkey was offering.”

He added: “Turkey does not care about the lives of Syrian youth, and what only matters to them are its interests, and turning its affiliated factions into more like a company of mercenary fighters, directing them as it wants, in order to avoid sending large numbers of Turkish soldiers to the battle fronts, because the killing of a large number of them will provoke “Popular discontent within Turkey with Erdogan’s policies in the region.”

However, many of the members of these factions still accept to go on to fight in any battle that the Turkish occupation authorities ask of them in any place, even though a large percentage of them no longer trust the Turkish occupation, but their difficult living conditions leave them no other choice but Stay within these factions.