Sources in the know in Syria confirmed that Wagner's mercenaries withdrew from their main headquarters, where they had been stationed for years in the Syrian desert ("Habadiya"), in the west of Deir ez-Zor province, after differences of opinion with the Russian command in Syria.
The sources told the "Orient" news network that the withdrawal was expected after the killing of the leader of the mercenaries, Yevgeny Prigozhin, in the crash of his plane in St. Petersburg, along with his senior commanders last August.
The withdrawal began at the beginning of this September, after a meeting held in the city of Homs, in which the Russian leadership gave the Wagner commanders in Syria a choice between staying and serving in Syria under the same conditions of the old contract for only one month, after which they would join the Russian army, or leave Syria and return to Russia and the other countries from which their mercenaries came the sword
According to the sources, the Syrian mercenaries have not yet received their salary for last August.
There are more than 1,500 members of the "Wagner" militia in Syria, nationalities belonging to the countries of the former Soviet Union, and they are mainly concentrated in the oil fields in the Syrian desert, and in several cities in the desert. There are also more than 3,000 Syrians recruited under the umbrella of the "Wagner" militia inside and outside Syria, most of them fighters, including civilian workers.
Author and journalist Firas Alavi believes that the Wagner forces will not withdraw completely from Syria at this point, as the Russians need the presence of this militia, that is, an "irregular force" that performs operations that should not be related to the Russian army. In addition to the fact that his presence today is mandatory in Syria to achieve a balance with the presence of the Iranian militias, until an alternative is secured.
Photo: Reuters