Azeri newspaper Yeni Musavat reported in a recent article that Damascus considers the growing number of Azerbaijani militants in Syria as a serious threat.

According to the Azeri paper, the Syrian government has conveyed the warning message through Azerbaijan’s Embassy, which is currently operating in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in May 2013 that militants from nearly 30 different countries were operating against the government in different parts of the country.
 

In September 2013, a British defense study conducted by IHS Jane’s showed that about 100,000 militants, fragmented into 1,000 groups, are operating against the Syrian government.

According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies -- Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey -- are supporting the militants.

Syria has been gripped by deadly violence since March 2011.

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