Turkey has sent from 3,500 to 3,800 Syrian fighters to Libya in the first three months of this year, AP reported referring to the US Defense Department’s inspector general's new report.

According to the report, Turkey has paid and offered citizenship to thousands of mercenaries fighting alongside Tripoli-based militias against troops of east Libya-based commander Khalifa Hifter.

The report was published amid concerns over the transformation of the war in Libya into a regional proxy war, fueled by foreign forces supplying weapons and militants to the country.