ALEPPO, Syria — Hundreds of fighters from the National Army of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) headed to Libya in December 2019 to fight alongside the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) against forces led by Gen. Khalifa Hifter.

​The deployment came after Turkey agreed to help support the GNA against Hifter’s offensive in the Libyan capital Tripoli. According to leaks circulated by opposition media, Turkish security officials met with FSA leaders in December 2019 and discussed the deployment of Syrian fighters to Libya, in return for a salary. Syrian soldiers will reportedly receive up to $2,000 monthly for participating in the mission in Libya, while Syrian commanders will receive $3,000. Neither the official Turkish side nor the Syrian opposition confirmed the reports.

Successive batches of National Army fighters have already arrived in Libya. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported Jan. 20 that 2,400 Syrian fighters have arrived in Tripoli.

Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu denied Jan. 15 that Turkish citizenship or money had been given to National Army soldiers in exchange for fighting in Libya. “These allegations are completely false,” Cavusoglu told CNN Turk. The GNA also denied the presence of Syrian fighters in Tripoli Dec. 29.