Todd Bishop
After entering January 5, 2020, as Turkish President Recep Erdogan and the Turkish Parliament have confirmed the Turkish armed presence in Libya, in support of the Tripoli “Government of National Unity” (GNA), which is at a disadvantage on the battlefield, A group of 120 “Turkish military personnel” have also set foot on Libyan land.
In this regard, the Libyan National Army (LNA) camp fighting the GNA was very dissatisfied. The drone air strike launched by the LNA on January 4 heralded the likely fate of Turkish military personnel: a Chinese-made Under the targeted bombing of the “Pterosaur” drone, 28 military personnel were killed on the spot by a GNA military target.
Considering that Turkey is not actually serving the Turkish Army in Libya, it is the militants recruited by the Turkish Army from northern Syria. In addition, since April 2018, Turkey has sent its domestic “East Turkistan” militants to the northern Syrian battlefield after a simple training. A very ironic situation will follow: “East Turkistan” personnel who have moved into Turkey and Syria It is likely to be hunted by Chinese drones in Libya.
To the outside world, it is not news that “East Turkistan” terrorists appeared in Syria. “East Turkistan” entered Syria through the southeast border of Turkey and joined “Islamic State” and “Al-Qaida” are also long-term trends. As recently as April 2016, an “East Turkistan” armed force also took the initiative to launch an attack on the Russian and Syrian forces, sweeping away the stereotype that the “East Turkistan” had a low combat effectiveness in the eyes of the outside world.
However, since 2016, Syrian “East Turkistan” elements have basically gathered in the area of Gisr al-Shurgour in the Idlib region in northwestern Syria. Until the change of the “Free Shams Organization” (HTS), they have been stationed there to serve them, so they have also been slammed by Russia and Syria. For example, in September 2018, January 2019, and December 2019 to date, Gisr Shugur, guarded by the “East Turkistan”, has repeatedly suffered heavy bombardment by Syrian rockets and Russian fighters, causing heavy casualties.
In contrast, after April 2018, “East Turkistan” elements have a new area of activity in Syria. Starting in March 2018, Turkey began to station in the “Free Army” base camp in the country’s Hatay Province. The “East Turkistan” forces trained by the Turkish Army were transferred to the front line of operations against Kurdish forces, and some of them joined the fighting in the Afrin area.
It is undeniable that this militant had held up the “East Turkistan” flag and weapons before recording the video, shouted threat slogans such as “to fight back” and “kill the Chinese” in Mandarin. For a time, the Chinese world had quite Unhappy. However, observers soon discovered that Turkey’s intention to arm the “East Turkistan” into the soil-based “Free Army” (TFSA) and use it as “artillery fodder”. The army was sent to the front line to undertake tasks that could cause casualties.
Now, when Turkey tries to send about 8,000 TFSA to Libya under the name “Sultan Murad Division”, the future fate of the “East Turkistan” elements seems to be predictable: the new batch of armed elements controlled by Turkey not only Terrorist armed forces in the Idlib region will not be strengthened along the traditional smuggling channels. They are even more involuntary under the control of regional powers.
The data shows that the first batch of 12 “Bayraktar” unmanned aircraft that Turkey had previously sent to Libya to be tested on the battlefield had been lost in the competition with the Chinese-made “Pterosaur” fighter aircraft and was sent to Libya’s “East Turkistan” It is also possible that the elements will encounter a similar fate.
