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Afghan commandos that had been skilled by america are being recruited to struggle for Russia in Ukraine, based on a report from Overseas Coverage.
Members of Afghanistan’s elite Nationwide Army Commando Corps had been left behind by america when the Taliban took management of the nation in August 2021.
Now, commandos say they’re being contacted on WhatsApp and Sign with provides to struggle for Russia, based on the outlet.
The messages, seen by Overseas Coverage, say: “Anybody who wish to go to Russia with higher therapy and good sources: please ship me your identify, father’s identify, and your army rank.”
Navy and safety officers in Afghanistan advised the outlet that they worry as much as 10,000 commandos might be tempted by such a suggestion, as a lot of them had been left jobless and fearful for his or her life as they turned targets for the Taliban.
“They don’t have any nation, no jobs, no future. They don’t have anything to lose,” one army supply advised the outlet.
One former Afghan commando officer advised Overseas Coverage that he believed the shadowy Wagner Group was behind the recruitment drive.
“I’m telling you [the recruiters] are Wagner Group. They’re gathering individuals from throughout. The one entity that recruits overseas troops [for Russia] are Wagner Group, not their military. It is not an assumption; it is a recognized reality,” he mentioned.
Earlier this yr a video emerged of the group’s suspected founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, a detailed Putin ally, recruiting prisoners from Russian jails to struggle in Ukraine in alternate for shortened sentences.
1000’s of the Afghan commandos fled to neighboring international locations following the Taliban takeover final yr, and plenty of are actually dropping hope within the risk that they might be settled in Western international locations. Many are nonetheless in hiding in Afghanistan.
Afghan media reported that troopers had been being supplied Russian citizenship in alternate for combating in Ukraine.
One former Afghan commando captain, 35, advised Overseas Coverage that he had helped join colleagues with a recruitment workplace in Tehran, and people who took up the provide had been flown to Russia through Iran.
“Once they settle for Russia’s provide, the commando personnels’ telephones are turned off. They proceed very secretly,” the commando, who’s himself hiding in Afghanistan, mentioned.
He mentioned that he turned down the provide as a result of he views Russia as Afghanistan’s enemy after the Soviet Union sparked a nine-year struggle by invading Afghanistan in 1979, however that others may need taken it up out of desperation.
“We’re very dissatisfied. For 18 years, shoulder to shoulder, we carried out harmful duties with American, British, and Norwegian consultants. Now, I’m in hiding. I’m struggling each second,” he advised the outlet.
The Afghan Elite Nationwide Army Commando Corps, made up of 20,000 to 30,000 volunteers, was partly skilled by U.S. Navy SEALs and the British Particular Air Service, per Overseas Coverage.
Whereas, generally, the Afghan Nationwide Protection and Safety Forces had been seen as incompetent, the commandos had been effectively revered.
A former senior Afghan safety official, talking anonymously to Overseas Coverage, mentioned that the Afghan fighters “could be a game-changer” within the struggle.
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