Turkey adds fuel to fire in Nagorno-Karabakh

07:52 14/10/2020 - Πηγή: Armynow

By: Ahmad al-Khaled

In the past few years, Turkey’s unprecedentedly aggressive foreign policy has affected all States within Ankara’s area of interest.

The renewed conflict in Karabakh region was viewed by Turkish President Recep Erdogan as a new goal for his imperialist ambitions. And that’’s

why the sovereign State of Armenia came under Turkish attack.

On 27th September Turkish-backed Azerbaijan launched a military
operation to regain control of the disputed territories of
Nagorno-Karabakh. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on his
Twitter account confirmed Ankara’s readiness to support Baku and fight
for its interests, thus protecting “two countries, one nation”
principle. He also called on Armenia to immediately withdraw its troops
from the “occupied” Karabakh territories. At the same time, media and
social networks started spreading information about the deploying of
Turkish military equipment and mercenaries from Syria and Libya in
Azerbaijan.

Even before the outbreak of clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan, on
19th September local Syrian sources informed that Turkey began
recruiting volunteers in Afrin in northern Syria for their further
dispatch to the conflict zone. Mercenaries were reportedly taken to a
training camp in the Turkish town of Gaziantep, from where they were
transported to the Azeri capital Baku under the guise of Turkish
soldiers.

According to Flightradar24, Turkish aircraft took off from Mitiga
Airport in Libya’’s Tripoli and landed in Baku. Military experts
suppose that the aircraft moved a batch of pro-Turkish mercenaries to
participate in fighting against Armenian armed forces.

The further activity of Syrian mercenaries can be tracked through
regional networks and social media. Reports said that more than dozens
of fighters, mostly from pro-Turkish Syrian factions Ahrar al-Sharqiyah
and Hamza Division, were killed during clashes in Karabakh. According to
the British newspaper Guardian, Syrian mercenaries weren’t meant to
participate in the conflict as a combat force but were “signed up to
work as border guards in Azerbaijan”.

Despite the excuses of the Turkish authorities and the statements made
by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on non-interference of the Turkish
party in the Karabakh conflict, there is a lot of evidence proving
Ankara’s direct interference. The latest example of Turkey’s aggressive
policy was the shooting down of Sukhoi SU-25 aircraft belonging to the
Armenian Air Force by Turkish F-16 fighter jet. Additionally, Ankara
intensified its support for Baku with sophisticated unmanned aerial
vehicles “Bayraktar”.

Erdogan’s real goals in the Karabakh conflict remain unclear,
especially given the fact that Turkish intervention could trigger
Russian involvement and further escalation. Probably if the opposing
sides won’’t take practical steps towards a peaceful solution and
won’t prevent foreign interference, the world can witness a new
long-lasting conflict and more civilian casualties.

Ahmad al-Khaled is a freelance journalist with primary focus on
the involvement of foreign actors in the Syrian conflict and its
consequences on both regional and global levels._

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