Turkish-backed Syrian rebels are a mix of former rebels and newly recruited fighters enticed into joining the battle by the wages on offer, Foreign Policy Research Institute fellow Elizabeth Tsurkov said.

"Turkey relied on already existing Syrian rebel factions, some of which once received support from the CIA-led Military Operations Command or the Department of Defense Train and Equip Program," Tsurkov said in an article she penned on Wednesday for the New York Review of Books.

The Syrian National Army (SNA), formerly known as the Free Syrian Army (FSA), is composed of 36 opposition groups operating mainly in northern Syria. These groups took part in Turkey’s Operation Euphrates Shield and Operation Olive Branch, in 2017 and 2018 respectively, and also joined the latest military incursion into Syria that was launched on Oct. 9.

Turkey took over the payment of salaries to the fighters before the seven-month operation in northeast Syria in 2016, and significantly expanded their ranks, Tsurkov said.

"That rate, of about $50 per month, is insufficient to cover even basic necessities, so fighters commonly have to rely on taking loans, family support, and criminal activities such as looting in order to make ends meet," the analyst said.

Some of the fighters are simply “drug addicts and criminals,” Tsurkov quoted an SNA fighter with the al-Mu’tasim Brigade as saying.

Young recruits of the SNA enjoy presenting themselves as driving in cars, brandishing weapons on social media, she said, adding that they also enjoy the impunity provided them.

Turkish-backed Syrian rebels have been accused of committing war crimes being committed during the latest Turkish offensive as videos emerged on social media of apparent atrocities.

Several reports revealed that Syrian rebels looted residents' houses and stores, kidnapped and tortured several civilians during Turkey's offensive into formerly Kurdish-controlled enclave of Afrin.