Iranian site: Germany, European Union fund mercenaries in Idlib

An Iranian website quoted from European newspapers that the German government and other members of the European Union are financing mercenaries in Idlib, and more than 37.5 million euros were transferred to these gangs by the German Foreign Ministry.

12 November, 2018 12:07

NEWS DESK

The Iranian Press website quoted from foreign newspapers that the German government and the European countries have provided support to the Turkish-backed mercenary gangs that control Idlib.

According to the German newspaper of "Tag Spiegel", the German government and other members of the European Union are funding the mercenaries that are still existed in Idlib and engaged into a fight against the Syrian army.

According to a report by the British Independent newspaper on Sunday, at least 37.5 million euros were transferred to the armed gangs in Idlib by the German Foreign Ministry.

He noted that Berlin paid nearly € 49 million to the mercenaries who are fighting to overthrow the Syrian regime and facilitated the transfer of similar funds by other members of the European Union.

The funds included € 11.3 million from other sources, or € 17 million from the European Union, for which Germany would play an intermediary role.

According to the report, the German government does not convey the exact list of recipients of funds for fear of enraging Russia and other parties involved in the Syrian war.

This information was revealed by the German Foreign Minister Walter Lindner in response to a question posed by the European Parliament's member Efrem Sommer with whom the German newspaper Tag Spiegel interviewed.

The report comes after the German Chancellor Angela Merkel met with the leaders of Russia, Turkey and France in Istanbul in late October to discuss the interests of the four countries in Syria.

Ankara has long supported the mercenaries who seek to topple the Syrian regime, including the mercenaries of Heyat Tahrir al-Sham (Jabhet al-Nusra) and IS, while Moscow and Tehran support the Syrian regime in this conflict.

Last month, Germany said that more than 100 militants fighting in Iraq and Syria had returned to the country, but at least, dozens of them are still being investigated for possible terrorist links."

The Interior Ministry said in a statement that it had recognized 124 people who were part of at least 249 people who had traveled from Germany to Iraq and Syria.

Meanwhile, at least 40 per cent of the 900 Britons who had traveled to Syria to join Daesh returned to the United Kingdom, but the head of the British Counter-Terrorism Committee, Neil Basu, said, "They have no longer form a major threat."

(T/S)

ANHA