The province of Hatay has been turned into a hub for gangs, and now there are allegations of gangs being trained in border outposts on the Syrian border. According to a military official, gang members brought from Idlib, under control of gang groups like Al-Nusra and Ahrar Al-Sham, have been placed in military security zones in the border outposts. The groups were brought in by armored buses with dark windows and were made to wear Turkish soldier uniforms according to the source, and the groups are trained in military zones where civilian entry is prohibited.

“THE INSTRUCTORS ARE TURKISH SOLDIERS”

According to the military official, the clothing given to the gangs are the same as contract soldier procedures. The gang uniforms have no name tags. The gang members are seen by the newly conscripted privates, then they move to the zones outside the outposts where they are lodged and trained. The military official says the gang groups in question are brought in accompanied by gendarmerie special operations units and that they receive gun training in shooting ranges, with Kalashnikov guns instead of standard issue military weapons. The official says the gangs received all kinds of military training, and that he didn’t know who the instructors were but they were Turkish soldiers.

The source expressed that the gangs are trained from morning into the night and then replaced by new ones, and that Turkey continues to implement the “Train-Equip” project, which was launched with the international forces but failed, alone right now. The military official said there were similar situations in all border outposts.