Families of Syrian refugees who had refused to go to Azerbaijan to fight in Nagorno-Karabakh were expelled from their homes by pro-Turkish militants who control the territory, Ahmad Kazem, the head of the Damascus-based Syrian Human Rights Network, told Sputnik on Monday
BEIRUT (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th October, 2020) Families of Syrian refugees who had refused to go to Azerbaijan to fight in Nagorno-Karabakh were expelled from their homes by pro-Turkish militants who control the territory, Ahmad Kazem, the head of the Damascus-based Syrian Human Rights Network, told Sputnik on Monday.
"With regard to the Syrian Arab families from among the refugees from various cities and settlements residing in the occupied Afrin city [Aleppo Province], 40 families were expelled from their homes in the village of Akhur. It was done after they refused to send their men to the war in Azerbaijan," Kazem said, citing own sources in the terrorist-controlled territories.
Another three families were threatened with forced eviction for the same reason in the Qazalbash village, according to the human rights activist.
"The militants intimidating the refugees belong to the Sultan Muhammad Al-Fateh group, also known as Al-Amshat," Kazem said.
Last week, a source in the Syrian opposition told Sputnik that Syrian mercenaries were being deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh to fight on Azerbaijan's side against Armenia. According to the source, 93 of them were already killed at that point, while another group was to depart this weekend.
According to Kazem, Turkey began training the Syrian mercenaries for deployment to Nagorno-Karabakh back in August, before the armed hostilities began in the breakaway Armenian-majority land. The mercenaries were being deployed to Nagorno-Karabakh disguised as Turkish soldiers who were headed to attend joint military drills with Azerbaijan.
The frozen conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh burst into a fresh cycle of armed escalation on September 27. Azerbaijan launched what it called a "counteroffensive" against Nagorno-Karabakh, while Armenia accused Baku of unilaterally violating the 1994 OSCE-mediated ceasefire and opening unprovoked fire against civilians and civilian infrastructure.
The present escalation stands out by Turkey's suspected involvement in the military action, including by the deployment of mercenaries from the northern Syrian territories under its control.
The presence of Syrian mercenaries in Nagorno-Karabakh was first reported by international media and later confirmed by French President Emmanuel Macron and the Russian Foreign Ministry. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has denied this and demanded that Macron apologizes to him.
The matter was also discussed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in a phone conversation this past Friday, with both leaders expressing "serious concerns" about the involvement of illegal militants from the Middle East in Nagorno-Karabakh.
