What will Turkey and Russia do with the mercenaries in Afghanistan
Turkey could prepare to deploy mercenaries in Afghanistan shortly, by agreeing with Russia. Giuseppe Gagliano's analysis
Turkey could prepare to deploy mercenaries in Afghanistan in September 2021.
Local Syrian sources report that Turkey is recruiting Syrian mercenaries to deploy to protect Kabul airport, government institutions and international forces for a relatively high monthly salary of $ 3,000.
According to Intelligence Online , Turkish intelligence officials have asked at least five factions of the Syrian National Army supported by Turkey to prepare an initial batch of 2,000 troops by September.
Turkish private military company SADAT is likely to lead the recruitment and transfer of Syrian mercenaries to Afghanistan in line with its past responsibilities in Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh.
SADAT is a Turkish private security firm founded by Erdogan's close ally and retired Brigadier General Adnan Tanriverdi. SADAT has drawn national and international criticism for its reported role in training Islamist militias in Syria.
Turkey and Russia could try to move extremist groups from Idlib to Afghanistan, Russian news sources reported.
Russian news agency ANNA News said Turkey and Russia could negotiate for Turkey to deliver on its promise to eliminate the extremist presence from Idlib in Syria by moving fighters to Afghanistan or to the borders of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Both Turkish and Russian interests would benefit from an exodus of foreign fighters from the Idlib area.
A successful offer to help stabilize Afghanistan or support the right internal leaders could demonstrate that Turkey is a necessary actor in the region and an important security partner for its allies inside and outside NATO.
Ankara could improve US-Turkish relations and strengthen Turkish influence over the US by engaging in a key NATO-encouraged mission in Afghanistan. Turkish military-diplomatic support in Afghanistan could provide additional benefits to Turkey such as economic access, improvements to its global security position and greater projection of power in Central Asia.
Turkey likely seeks to use the departure of NATO and the advance of the Taliban as a turning point to maximize its impact in Afghanistan.
The expansion of the Turkish presence with Syrian proxy support could better protect Turkish troops and maximize Turkey's role as an intermediary. Turkey could seek to extend its political and military presence beyond the airport to add operational depth to its missions in Afghanistan. Turkish officials try to minimize the risk of casualties and financial costs by discussing security deals with the United States, Iran, Afghanistan and countries bordering Afghanistan. However, securing the Kabul airport will remain a high-risk mission for the Turkish armed forces.
Acquiring behind-the-scenes assurances and security deals from regional partners such as Pakistan or the Taliban will likely be a requirement for Turkey to retain troops after NATO's withdrawal.
Ultimately Syrian mercenaries can provide Turkey with additional power projection capabilities.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/turchia-afghanistan-russia-mercenari/ on Mon, 13 Sep 2021 08:24:44 +0000.