Iran Sent Them to Syria. Now Afghan Fighters Are a Worry at Home.
- 7 years ago
Iran Sent Them to Syria. Now Afghan Fighters Are a Worry at Home.
Iran said that There was always talk about that; the commander would say that one day you will go defend in your own country,
Fatemiyoun said that Here, I am scared — of the government, of Daesh,
And one Fatemiyoun fighter who returned about three months ago from Syria said the violence against Afghan
Shiites was a frequent topic raised by their commanders in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
Rahmatullah Nabil said that This is quite dangerous: What happens to this Fatemiyoun force when the war in Syria is over?
What those fighters might do when they come home is now very much on the minds of officials who fear
that Afghanistan may become the next great sectarian battleground between Iran, as the declared guardian of Shiites, and Saudi Arabia, long the sponsor of conservative Sunni doctrine around the world.
Not only did Iran send smaller units of the Fatemiyoun to cross Syrian borders and fight in Yemen,
but at least 1,000 Sunni Afghan refugees from camps in Pakistan have also been recruited to fight on Saudi Arabia’s behalf in Yemen, according to three senior Afghan officials.
Iran said that There was always talk about that; the commander would say that one day you will go defend in your own country,
Fatemiyoun said that Here, I am scared — of the government, of Daesh,
And one Fatemiyoun fighter who returned about three months ago from Syria said the violence against Afghan
Shiites was a frequent topic raised by their commanders in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
Rahmatullah Nabil said that This is quite dangerous: What happens to this Fatemiyoun force when the war in Syria is over?
What those fighters might do when they come home is now very much on the minds of officials who fear
that Afghanistan may become the next great sectarian battleground between Iran, as the declared guardian of Shiites, and Saudi Arabia, long the sponsor of conservative Sunni doctrine around the world.
Not only did Iran send smaller units of the Fatemiyoun to cross Syrian borders and fight in Yemen,
but at least 1,000 Sunni Afghan refugees from camps in Pakistan have also been recruited to fight on Saudi Arabia’s behalf in Yemen, according to three senior Afghan officials.