Citing reliable sources, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that several battalions of the Turkish-backed Sultan Murad Brigade have broken away from the faction. The defected fighters are estimated to be nearly 700.

According to SOHR sources, the battalions’ leaders have defected from “Sultan Murad” with fighters under their command, protesting the faction’s policy in terms of sending fighters to Libya in order to join battles there in the side of Al-Sarraj’s government, especially after disputes flared up between the battalions’ leaders and the faction’s commander. The defected commanders also oppose the practices of “Sultan Murad” in Syria.

“It is worth noting that some of the defected battalions withdrew later from their positions on frontlines with regime forces and SDF in Ras Al-Ain countryside in north-western Al-Hasakah,” SOHR said.

The Turkish government supports the Muslim Brotherhood government in Libya with all means in order to maintain and expand a bridgehead of its neo-Ottoman policy in North Africa. However, the mercenary troops from northern Syria that were transferred from Turkey to Libya are failing because of the military superiority of General Haftar, who is supported by Russia and is also fighting for supremacy in Libya. Despite high payments, more and more mercenaries refuse to be transferred to Libya. This seems to be the background against which 700 members of the Sultan Murad Brigade have left the militia.

The Sultan Murad Brigade was founded by the Turkish secret service MIT. Among others, it is composed of Turkish and Turkmen right-wing extremists and jihadists and represents the neo-Ottoman course of the Erdoğan regime. It is part of the so-called "Syrian National Army" (SNA) and thus represents a decisive part of the occupation forces in Northern Syria. The militia is involved in war crimes, looting and extrajudicial executions.