DAMASCUS, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- A total of 14 pro-Turkey Syrian rebels were killed during the fighting in Libya, a war monitor reported on Tuesday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the bodies of 14 slain Syrian militants arrived in Syria on Tuesday, it said.

These fighters were sent there to join the forces led by the UN-backed government to fight against the eastern-based army led by Khalifa Haftar.

The Britain-based watchdog said 1,600 Turkey-backed Syrian rebels have so far been sent from Syria through Turkey to Libya.

The Turkey-backed rebels opened four centers in the northern Syrian city of Afrin to recruit fighters to be sent to Libya, it said.