Study: Half Of Mercenaries in Syria Are Hardline Militants
Local Editor
A study conducted by the British institute for defense (IHS Jane's) in September revealed that nearly half of mercenaries in Syria are hard-line militants.
Published by the UK Daily Telegraph last week, the study showed that the number of insurgents fighting against the Syrian army is estimated at around 100 thousand gunmen, distributed to approximately a thousand armed groups, who came from 83 countries, including all Arab countries except Djibouti.
Estimates by IHP Jane's' experts revealed that ten thousand of these gunmen fight to the side of al-Qaeda affiliated groups, and 30,000 to 35,000 other insurgents are fighting within other hard-line armed groups.
The study was based on interviews with militants and intelligence estimates.
"There are also at least a further 30,000 moderates belonging to groups that have an Islamic character, meaning only a small minority of the rebels are linked to secular or purely nationalist groups," the daily noted.
Charles Lister, author of the analysis wrote "The insurgency is now dominated by groups which have at least an Islamist viewpoint on the conflict. The idea that it is mostly secular groups leading the opposition is just not borne out."
Source: Newspapers
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