Turkey is sending Syrian rebel fighters to support Azerbaijan, according to two separate articles by The Guardian and Reuters.

Two Syrian rebels, from Turkish-backed rebel groups in areas of northern Syria under Turkish control, said they were deploying to Azerbaijan in coordination with Ankara, Reuters reveals.

Both men said they had been told by their Syrian brigade commanders they would earn around $1,500 a month. The fighter said he had arranged his assignment with an official from the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) in Afrin, a region of northwest Syria seized by Turkey and its Syrian rebel allies two years ago.

The other fighter, from the SNA-affiliated Jaish al-Nukhba militia, said he had been told nearly 1,000 Syrians were set to be deployed to Azerbaijan. Other rebels, who also declined to be named, gave figures of between 700 and 1,000.

Armenian ambassador to Russia Vardan Toghanyan told Russian media on Monday, September 28 that Turkey has deployed as many as 4000 Syrian fighters to Azerbaijan.

The two men, who spoke to Reuters last week, said they expected to be despatched on Sept. 25, to guard facilities but not to fight.

The Guardian too cited several volunteers in Syria’s last rebel stronghold as saying that Syrian rebel fighters have signed up to work for a private Turkish security company as border guards in Azerbaijan.

Men in Syria’s rebel-held Idlib province say that a recruitment drive began a month ago. Two brothers living in Azaz, Muhammad and Mahmoud, who asked for their names to be changed because of the sensitivity of the issue, said they were summoned to a military camp in Afrin on 13 September.

On arrival they were told by a commander in the Turkish-backed Sultan Murad division that work was available guarding observation posts and oil and gas facilities in Azerbaijan on three or six month contracts at 7,000-10,000 Turkish lira ($900-$1,250) a month.

The promised salaries are vast sums compared with the 450-550 Turkish lira a month Syrian rebels earn from Ankara in the fight against Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

Azerbaijan launched a major offensive against Karabakh (Artsakh) in the morning of September 27, shelling Armenian positions and civilian settlements with large caliber weapons and rocket systems. Armenia and Karabakh have introduced martial law and total mobilization. The Armenian side has reported deaths and injuries both among the civilian population and the military.