Leaving the Syrian civil war and working as a mercenary in Niger

For greater than a decade, Abu Mohammad lived along with his household in a tent in northern Syria, displaced by the lengthy civil warfare. Unable to earn sufficient cash to assist them, he, like a whole lot of others, determined to journey to Niger by way of Turkey and turn into a mercenary.

Abu Mohammed (not his actual title), 33, and his spouse, who’ve 4 younger youngsters, haven’t any working water or bathrooms and depend on small photo voltaic panels to cost their cellphones. Their tents have been sweltering in the summertime, freezing within the winter, and leaked when it rained.

“It is turn into extraordinarily troublesome to discover a job,” he mentioned.

The faction he labored for paid him lower than $50 (£40) a month, so when a Turkish recruiter supplied him $1,500 (£1,160) a month to work in Niger, he thought it was one of the best ways to make more cash Manner.

He mentioned Syrian faction leaders helped facilitate the method and that after “faction taxes and proxies” he would nonetheless be left with a minimum of two-thirds of the cash. “If I die in battle [in Niger]my household will obtain $50,000 (£40,000) in compensation,” he added.

Violence in West Africa’s Sahel area has worsened lately on account of conflicts with jihadist teams. Niger has been affected, in addition to neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso, all three international locations which have skilled army coups up to now few years partly on account of instability.

Abu Mohammed was not the one one who wished to go to Niger.

Ali (pseudonym) lives in a tent in rural Idlib. He joined the Syrian opposition 10 years in the past on the age of 15. He lasted 5 days. He needed to borrow cash to assist his household and noticed Nigeria as the one approach to repay his debt. “I wished to go away the army profession totally and begin my very own enterprise,” he mentioned.

For Raed (not his actual title), one other 22-year-old opposition fighter, going to Niger felt like the one approach to accumulate sufficient cash to “fulfill his dream of getting married and beginning a household.”

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), which displays the Syrian battle via a community of native sources, mentioned greater than 1,000 Syrian militants have traveled to Niger by way of Turkey since December 2023. They normally signal for six months, however some have now prolonged their offers to at least one yr.

Earlier than their departure, the official line was that these males would defend Turkish plans and enterprise pursuits in Niger.

Turkey has expanded its political affect and business operations within the area, promoting gear reminiscent of drones to Niger to assist it struggle militant jihadist teams. Additionally it is concerned in mining the nation’s pure assets, together with gold, uranium and iron ore.

However the recruits know that it doesn’t matter what they’re informed, the truth could also be very completely different after they arrive in Niger.

SOHR and mercenary pals already working in Niger informed the BBC that the Syrians ended up below Russian command combating militant jihadist teams within the border triangle between Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso.

Niger’s democratically elected president Mohamed Bazoum was overthrown a yr in the past, after which the army junta minimize ties with the West.

Nathaniel Powell, Sahel researcher at Oxford Analytica, defined: “Niger began on the lookout for new allies and located an appropriate various in Russia. Russian weapons are cheaper than Western weapons. Russia additionally supplies army assets and coaching and expressed willingness to adapt to native necessities with out imposing strict circumstances, in contrast to our Western counterparts.

The prospect of combating below Russian command poses a dilemma for Syrian militants against the regime, as Russia has been a staunch supporter of President Assad.

“We’re mercenaries right here and mercenaries there,” Abu Mohammed mentioned, “however I’m on a Turkish mission and I cannot take orders from the Russians.”

However as Rudd admits, lots of him had little selection: “I hate these powers, however for monetary causes I’ve to go away,” he mentioned.

Ladd mentioned they’re nonetheless ready for a contract to be signed, which they’ll signal “earlier than or throughout the journey.” He defined that the method was secret and that he knew a person who was imprisoned by the Syrian opposition for “revealing some particulars of African operations and registration mechanisms.”

The recruits we interviewed claimed that their faction leaders informed them that after the contract was signed, a Turkish firm referred to as SADAT would take care of them and can be concerned in arranging their journey and logistics.

About 5 years in the past, Abu Mohammed traveled to Libya and labored as a mercenary for six months, which he claimed was organized by Sadat.

SOHR additionally claimed that Sadat’s group was concerned within the course of, primarily based on info offered by different mercenaries who had traveled to Niger.

We can not independently confirm these claims. We contacted Sadat, who strongly denied recruiting or deploying Syrian fighters in Niger, saying the claims “don’t have anything to do with the information… We aren’t conducting any actions in Niger”. It additionally mentioned it had no actions in Libya aside from a “army sports activities” program greater than a decade in the past, which it needed to withdraw because of the disaster there.

The corporate added that it “doesn’t present providers to non-state actors” however “supplies consulting, coaching and logistical providers within the discipline of protection and safety to the armed forces and safety forces in accordance with the Turkish Industrial Code”.

Nevertheless, SOHR reported that the Ankara authorities used personal firms to recruit Syrian mercenaries and ship them to Niger. The group’s director, Rami Abdel Rahman, accused the Turkish authorities of exploiting Syrians who haven’t any cash and bleak financial prospects.

The BBC raised these allegations with the Turkish Overseas Ministry however we’ve but to obtain a response.

This isn’t the primary time the Turkish authorities has been accused of sending Syrian fighters overseas. A number of reviews, together with from the U.S. Division of Protection, have documented the presence of Turkish-backed Syrian fighters in Libya – Turkey has beforehand acknowledged the presence of Syrian fighters there however not its recruitment. It additionally denies recruiting and deploying Syrian mercenaries to the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh area within the Caucasus.

The state of affairs in Niger means staying in contact with household in Syria might be very troublesome. When recruits arrive, their cellphones are confiscated, based on SOHR’s ​​Abdelrahman. Abu Mohammed mentioned his pals in Africa “can contact their households as soon as each two weeks, generally even much less.”

He added that they themselves have been unable to speak to their wives or dad and mom and needed to talk via superiors in Niger, “who assured the households of the fighters that every little thing was wonderful”.

Ali added that a few of his pals who traveled to Niger informed him that they spent a lot of their time “in army bases, ready for fight orders.”

Not everybody can go house. In line with SOHR, 9 folks have been killed in Niger since December 2023.

Ladd and Ali mentioned their households don’t need them to go, so they might find yourself mendacity and pretending to go to Turkey to coach for a number of months.

Abu Mohammed’s household wasn’t eager on the concept both. “If I had a approach to make an honest residing, I would not do this sort of work even when you gave me one million {dollars},” he mentioned. However he added, “If my son requested me for a bicycle, I’d Can by no means afford it.

The names of Abu Muhammad, Ali and Raad have been modified for safety causes.