The monitor said there are more than 40,000 Syrians registered to fight alongside Russia in Ukraine. (Representative)
Beirut:
Russia has prepared a list of 40,000 fighters from the Syrian army and allied militias prepared for deployment to Ukraine, a war watchdog said on Tuesday.
The Kremlin said last week that volunteers, including those from Syria, were welcome to fight alongside Russian forces in Ukraine.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Activists said Russian authorities, in coordination with the Syrian military and allied militias, had set up registration offices in regime-held areas.
“So far more than 40,000 Syrians have registered to fight with Russia in Ukraine,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the UK-based monitor.
Moscow is recruiting Syrians who gained combat experience during Syria’s 11-year-old civil war to bolster the invasion of Ukraine that was launched on February 24.
Abdel Rahman said Russian officials deployed as part of a force Moscow sent to Syria in 2015 to support Damascus had cleared 22,000 of them.
Those fighters are either military draws or pro-regime militias with experience in street warfare and received Russian training.
In a country where soldiers earn between $15 to $35 a month, Russia has promised a salary of $1,100 to fight in Ukraine, the Observatory reports.
They are also entitled to $7,700 in compensation for injuries and $16,500 to their families if they die in combat.
The monitor said another 18,000 people had registered with Syria’s ruling Ba’ath Party and would be investigated by the Wagner Group, a Russian private military contractor with links to the Kremlin.
Misinformation about Syrian recruits in Ukraine is spreading online.
Last week, photos of a Syrian soldier killed in Ukraine were shared, but it later appeared to have been killed in his homeland in 2015.
– lack of jobs –
The observatory said it did not yet have confirmation of any Syrian recruits traveling to Ukraine.
Abdel Rahman stated that Russia had recruited Syrian forces from the 25th Special Mission Forces Division, once known as the “Tiger Forces”, and from the 5th Division operated by Russia.
Fighters from the Palestinian Liwa al-Quds group and the Ba’ath Party’s military wing were also included.
A representative of the Syrian government denied the recruitment drive.
“So far no names have been written, no soldiers are registered in any of the centers, and no one has traveled to Russia to fight in Ukraine,” Omar Rahmoun of the National Reconciliation Committee told AFP.
Syrian mercenaries have already fought against foreign conflicts in Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh.
More than a decade after the war has pushed 90 percent of the population into poverty, a factor Syrians for Truth and Justice said was a key factor in recruitment.
A Syrian soldier told an activist group this month that he enlisted to fight in Ukraine because he could not find a job after his military service.
“The situation is extremely dire. There is no electricity, heating or domestic gas,” he said, adding that he had registered at an Air Force intelligence office near Damascus.
– ‘a few hundred dollars’ –
According to Omar Abu Laila, head of Deir Ezzor 24 media outlet, regime-allied forces opened recruitment centers in the eastern cities of Al-Mayadin and Deir Ezzor.
“Wagner started the whole thing in Deir Azor; only dozens have registered so far,” he said.
“In a country that lacks basic necessities, some have no choice but to fight … for a few hundred dollars.”
Turkish-backed rebels in northern Syria are also gearing up to send fighters from the opposing side.
An AFP reporter in northern Syria said factions preparing for Ukraine included Sultan Murad, Suleiman Shah and the Hamza Division, all of whom had previously sent hundreds of fighters to fight in Libya and Azerbaijan.
While money is the main driver for Syrian mercenaries from both sides of the conflict, rights groups said Ankara’s proxies often exploit fighters and withhold wages.
One fighter told AFP he had been promised $3,000 to join Ukraine’s battlefields.
Another said, “We are tired of hunger… I will go and never come back. From Ukraine, I plan to go to Europe.”
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)