Iran Recruits Refugees from Afghanistan to Fight in Syria
Tombstones of Dead Afghan Children Buried in Iran |
According to researchers, by the year 2018 at least 840 Afghan recruits have died in fighting in the Syrian Civil War, and that number is very likely to be higher. These Afghan refugees, motivated by lack of economic opportunity and religious zeal, have been deceived by the Iranian regime into a fighting for a cause that is not theirs and a land that is not their own.
Experts estimate that Iran has sent approximately 80,000 fighters to take part in the Syrian Civil War, many of whom are foreign recruits. Some of the recruits confess that they went to fight after witnessing the terrible fate that befell Shiite Muslims who fell into the hands of ISIS while others stated that this is the only way they can provide for their families as Iran offers no other viable employment options. Iran insists that the fighters are strictly volunteers, but some Afghans state that they are being coerced into fighting, that Iran is giving them money, food, free passage through the country, permanent residency for refugees coupled with the fear of deportation, and the promise of medical treatment for their families in exchange for going to Syria and fighting.
Sources:
Constable, Pamela. "Recruited by Iran to Fight for Syrian Regime: Young Afghans Bring Home Cash and Scars." The Washington Post. July 29, 2018. Accessed from https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/recruited-by-iran-to-fight-for-syrian-regime-young-afghans-bring-home-cash-and-scars/2018/07/29/ecf9e34c-64e0-11e8-81ca-bb14593acaa6_story.html.
"Iran: Afghan Children Recruited to Fight in Syria." Human Rights Watch. Oct. 01, 2017. Accessed from https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/10/01/iran-afghan-children-recruited-fight-syria.
"Iran Recruiting Thousands of Afghan Refugees to Fight in Afghan Refugees to Fight in Syria for Assad." Middle East Eye. November 05, 2015. Accessed from https://www.middleeasteye.net/fr/news/iran-recruiting-thousands-afghan-refugees-fight-syria-assad-126840029
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