On Thursday, the Syrian National Army (SNA) issued a statement denying sending troops to Ukraine to fight against Russian forces.
According to the statement issued by the Ministry of Defense of the Interim Government, “the National Army stands with the Ukrainian people in the defense of their land in the face of the Russian invasion”.
The statement denied sending troops to take part in the war in exchange for money.
It considered some of the reports issued to be “irresponsible” and aimed at “discrediting the national army”.
The statement was in response to a human rights report published by The Syrians for Truth and Justice on Wednesday, in which it said that “the factions are recruiting about 1,000 fighters.”
“Some 900 to 1,000 names have already been registered, without obtaining the final Turkish approval to start transfers,” the organization quoted a leader of the First Corps as saying.
The report also quoted National Army fighters explaining the method of registration and the conditions that must be met by the fighter, most notably having “experience in the use of heavy weapons and having previously fought battles”.
It said the fighters promised to be paid sums of up to $1,200 for six months.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began on February 24th, talk has begun in the media about sending fighters from Syria to Ukraine to fight there.
Read Also: Conflicting Reports of Syrian Fighters Sent to Ukraine
Earlier this month, Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency claimed that Ukrainian officers –accompanied by Turkish intelligence agents– had visited the town of Azaz in Aleppo countryside and met with leaders of the National Army factions.
The meeting was aimed at “recruiting militants into the ranks of the Regional Defence Forces of Ukraine. It was agreed to organize a series of secret meetings with interested persons,” the Russian news agency said.
However, the military spokesman for the National Army and the Azm Chamber, Major Youssef Hammoud, denied the news in an interview with Al-Souria Net, saying that the reports were “totally denied”.
Hammoud said there had been no meeting in the region and that “no national army fighters have left for Ukraine”.
This article was edited and translated by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
