Reports have emerged from an award-wining journalist that Turkey is moving proxy-forces that it has used in Syria and Libya to Azerbaijan in order to back up the regime against the Armenian state.
Lindsey Snell, who was once kidnapped by Turkish backed terrorists in Northern Syria and was later held in a Turkish prison for 2 months, made the claim on Twitter stating that the 'Hamza division' had arrived in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.
From Hamza Division source. Supposedly these Hamza men arrived in Baku today via Ankara. pic.twitter.com/lgUcSl1Fkp
— Lindsey Snell (@LindseySnell) September 22, 2020
Syria. Though around 70 of these men were in Libya until recently.
— Lindsey Snell (@LindseySnell) September 22, 2020
Under the control of Recep Erdogan, the Hamza division is made up of Turks and Arabs and carries out actions in support of Turkey unofficially. They are said to be paid a monthly salary by the Turkish state and have been active in both the Syrian and Libyan civil wars. They have also been accused of war-crimes including the abuse of women in prison.
According to Syrian opposition sources, #Turkey will send next Wednesday the first batch of Syrian mercenaries (the former Free Army) to #Azerbaijan to participate in the battles against #Armenia, with a salary of $ 600 per month.
— Kevork Almassian (@KevorkAlmassian) September 21, 2020
Azerbaijan and Armenia have been in open and closed conflict over the bordering region of their two countries, commonly known as Nagorno-Karabakh, since the two nations established independence from the Soviet Union in the 1990s. Azerbaijan is a mostly Islamic country and Armenia is a Christian state. Turkey backs Azerbaijan and has a long animosity with the Armenian people. In 1915 the Ottoman Empire carried out a genocide of Armenians, killing as many as 1.5 million. To this day, the Turkish state refuses to take responsibility for this action.
Azerbaijan has denied they are receiving proxy support from Turkey. In a statement, a spokesperson from Azerbaijan said:
"The allegations are groundless and completely misleading. Recently, we observed in some foreign media a slanderous campaign against Azerbaijan, spreading absolutely groundless and fake information in this regard. It is nothing else but desperate attempts by Armenia to divert the attention of the international community, while facing a mobilization and planning problem to recruit armed groups on a voluntary basis, including foreign mercenaries. There is no doubt that Armenia, which has recruited mercenaries and terrorists from the Middle East as part of its aggressive policy against Azerbaijan, is behind this fake campaign."
An Armenian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson told Greek City Times that despite the movement of mercenaries, Armenia was prepared to take on any threat. They said:
"The Armenian sides are in total control of the situation. We are confident in our capacities to protect Armenia and Artsakh, and ensure the security and rights of the Armenian people in their homeland."
The international community is becoming increasingly worried about Turkey's use of mercenaries and their other aggressive actions. Early this year, France halted a Turkish ship sending weapons to Libya, and later deemed it necessary to send its Navy to the Eastern Mediterranean to back up Greek forces who claim that Turkey is searching for hydrocarbon deposits in violation of both Greek and Cypriot territory.
COMMENTS