Erdogan's elite forces similar to the Russian Wagner group

One of the closest confidants of the president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Adnan Tanriverdi expresses his expertise in all dark war techniques.

In the eyes of many, he is one of the most powerful mercenaries in the Islamic world, a well -connected former general who commands thousands of Syrian mercenaries tested in combat. One of the closest confidants of the president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Adnan Tanriverdi expresses expertise in all dark war techniques, from sabotage to the neutralization of insurrections and executions.

But with so many famous military men, separating man from the myth may seem a little difficult. Is it – as criticism likes to call it, the personal lackey of Erdogan – the secret Islamic armies commanding in Libya and Syria? Or is it as he prefers to say just a respected patriot, tarnished by the slander of the president's enemies?

“We did not send any mercenary forces or other soldiers to Syria or Libya”,-he insisted in his declaration to the “telegraph”, after the accusation which was raised against him by the United States government , that he had deployed thousands of thousands of people from Syrian fighters in Libya. He then continued his defense saying: “I want to emphasize that our company is not a mercenary organization.” He has no connection with a group or a terrorist organization. “”

The generals of the Pentagon Africa command insist the opposite. In a report sent to the United States government at the beginning of the month, they say that Sadate controlled nearly 5,000 Syrian mercenaries forces in Libya, including “extremists with old terrorist connections”, adding that the armed forces deployed there , they fought for the government of the national agreement, which is the side that Ankara maintained and supported during the civil war in Libya.

The report indicates that the mercenaries, who would have been paid and trained by a series of Sadat instructors, had helped to take over the territories of the government of Khalifa Heftar, one of the most powerful men of the time. Gaddafi, who benefits from the support of his Türkiye rivals, the United Emirates and Egypt. He also declared that suspect movements of combatants had also been observed.

“The reports of theft, sexual harassment and misconduct of these mercenaries were increasing, which, most likely, would further degrade the situation in terms of security.”

Adnan Tanriverrdi claims complete expertise in all “dark war techniques”.

The accusations brought by the United States has fueled the growing feeling of intrigue on the Sadate group in Turkey, which, according to the opponents of Erdogan, operates as a private presidential army.

They compare him to the group “Wagner”, which conducts military operations abroad for President Vladimir Putin, including the struggle in the interest of General Heftar's forces in Libya.

These suspicions come at a time when Erdogan seeks to extend Turkish military influence abroad, to restore the glory of the Ottoman era as one of the largest Islamic powers. Even now, he has annoyed a series of European leaders on his decision to continue the exploration of gas in disputed waters around Greece and Cyprus, part of the Mediterranean that Turkey considers its back and halt.

A former special forces commander, Tanriverdi is one of the army expelled group officers in the late 1990s because they shared Erdogan's Islamist trends. With his former colleagues, in 2012, unlike many other mercenary soldiers who work for what offers the most, he has an ideology: to prepare Muslim armies until they no longer need help from the West.

Or, as he says on his website, which presents short videos of elite forces: “The aim of the defense of Sadat is to help the Islamic world to take its legitimate place among the superpowers.” .

Sadate, he says, operates like any other modern private military enterprise, offering governments for the training of military forces and the neutralization of insurrections. However, just like the “Wagner” group, its activity is also characterized by secrecy, considering Mr. Tanriverdi, who refuses publicly in which countries he has carried out operations.

This did not prevent politicians from the Turkish opposition, who are in a tense relationship with Erdogan, from revealing the hand of Sadat in all unscrupulous actions. In Addition to Being Accused of Training Islamist Fighters in Syria and Libya, the Group is accused of behind-the-senes Assistance to the President in Defeating Aid Against Him in 2016. As suspected, Sadat Officers Have Been Involved in Violent Clashes During The night of the coup attempt.

These doubts are partially rooted in the fact that shortly after the attempted coup, President Erdogan made Tanriverdi his chief advisor on military affairs. He resigned earlier this year after a controversial speech in which he said that Sadate opened the way to the return of Mahdi, a messianic figure of Islam.

Two years ago, Merall Akshener, former Minister of Internal Affairs of Turkey, at the same time, a secular opposition politician, made accusations that Sadat had installed training camps for pro-government militias on Rives of the Black Sea, very narrow in Turkey. Their work, she said, was to provoke riots if the progress of the elections was not in favor of the AKP party, led by President Erdogan.

Tanriverdi denied these accusations by insisting, for “Telegraph”, that his company had only a few advisers, none of whom has ever been involved in direct clashes. He reacted by saying: “Do you think that a security company, made up of staff of less than ten people, can play a role in the abolition of a coup?”

He even showed signs of irritation when he was asked if Sadate was the president's private army, declaring that it was just a concept that only a British newspaper could take seriously. “Turkey is a Democratic Republic, whose head of state is elected by the people's vote,” he said. “As long as we have neither king nor queen, and there is no family rule or hereditary rule, it is a little difficult to understand your question.”

Professor Howard Eissenstat, who is an expert in Turkey at St Lawrence University in New York, said that the Turkish opposition may have exaggerated the importance of Sadate, mainly based on the grandiose vision they used for themselves on the website. Web.

However, according to his words, Professor Eissenstat added: “I do not think there is a doubt now that Sadat has cooperated closely with the Turkish government, both in Syria and Libya, and they are very explicit on The idea of ​​projecting the power of Turkey into the Muslim world.

It would be an opinion that would be shared by Tanriverdi, who says that his only mission in Libya was in 2013, when his business negotiated a call for tenders for the construction of a pentathlon for the Libyan army.

“However, due to the troubles that started in Libya, the negotiations were suspended,” he said.

And, however, insisted that very soon there would be many other Turkish societies, such as his, which will be involved in the military sector. “Turkey needs dozens, perhaps even hundreds of companies like Sadat,” he added. “And it's for the security, prosperity and survival of Muslim nations.”