Against the backdrop of escalating tensions in Nagorno-Karabakh, Turkish security companies began offering Islamists “jobs” in Azerbaijan.
The Guardian reports that the journalists managed to communicate with a member of a terrorist group operating in Idlib, Syria. He said that now militants are transferred to Azerbaijan under the pretext of protection of observation posts and oil and gas facilities. They even sign contracts for 3-6 months. The militants are offered to pay about 10 thousand Turkish liras or 1.3 thousand US dollars. This is a huge sum for ordinary militants.
The interlocutor of the journalists, who asked not to give his name, said that he himself signed the contract back on September 18 and is now right on the line of contact in Nagorno-Karabakh. A 23-year-old native of Idlib noted that he had been sent to Azerbaijan as part of a contingent of thousands of militants of groups loyal to Turkey. First they were taken to the Turkish military base in Gaziantep, then to Istanbul, and from there by military aircraft to Azerbaijan.
“At first I did not dare to come here because I knew nothing about this country and I do not speak this language. I knew that there were clashes between the two countries, but I did not know that I was going to war. I thought it was just a guard”, – he admitted.
According to The Guardian, the Syrian militants deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh now wear the same uniform as the Azerbaijani border guards. Although Turkey denies sending Islamists to Nagorno-Karabakh, this has been reported repeatedly. In particular, French President Emmanuelle Macron spoke about this.