Who Are Syrians Fighting With in the Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict? Both Sides, Some Argue

Even though the dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan isn't a new one, the escalation between the two countries over the Nagorno-Karabakh region has never been this serious. About a week ago the two countries got into a military clash that has killed dozens of people, but the fight has not been limited to the armies of the two countries.

Surprised by the sudden military conflict between Yerevan and Baku, many countries have already rushed to support one side over the other for political, historical, and sometimes religious considerations.

However, several sources have been noticing considerable participation of Syrian combatants on both sides of the fight, which is mostly attributed to the deep political division amongst Syrians, especially after the 8-year long civil war.

According to Reuters, two Syrian rebels have stated that Turkey is "deploying Syrian fighters" to Baku to fight alongside Azerbaijani soldiers, which serves the Turkish interest in the region mostly evident in it's declared alliance with Azerbaijan. Several unverified reports have suspected that about 4000 Syrian mercenaries might have arrived at Azerbaijan already, preparing for the fight against Armenia.

At the same time, many other Syrians have taken to social media to express their support for Armenia in the fight against Azerbaijan, citing conflicting interests with Turkey and the Israeli support for Azerbaijan as a reason to side with Armenia.

Moreover, and amid lack of confirmed reports, Syrians of Armenian descent have also allegedly prepared to support the Armenian forces in the recent conflict.

The dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh region is decades old, as both countries who gained independence in the wake of the USSR's collapse in 1991 claimed the right to control the region with an Armenian majority. Residents of Nagorno-Karabakh have since been trying to gain their own statehood as they continue to demand their right for self-determination.

Moreover, the hostility between Turkey and Armenia is about a century-old and goes back to the massacres committed by Turkish forces against 1.5 million ethnic Armenians under the Othman rule, between the years 1914 and 1923, resulting in murdering and expelling hundreds of thousands of them. Despite Armenians continuous demands, Turkey still refuses to offer Armenians an apology for the 20th century's genocide.