- Elite Afghan commandos are being contacted with gives to battle for Russia in Ukraine, stories Overseas Coverage.
- The troopers have been as soon as educated by US Navy SEALs however have been left behind when the Taliban took over final yr.
- One Afghan official stated he believed Russia’s mercenary Wagner Group is behind the recruitment drive.
Afghan commandos that have been educated by the US are being recruited to battle for Russia in Ukraine, in keeping with a report from Overseas Coverage.
Members of Afghanistan’s elite Nationwide Army Commando Corps have been left behind by the US when the Taliban took management of the nation in August 2021.
Now, commandos say they’re being contacted on WhatsApp and Sign with gives to battle for Russia, in keeping with the outlet.
The messages, seen by Overseas Coverage, say: “Anybody who want to go to Russia with higher remedy and good assets: please ship me your title, father’s title, and your army rank.”
Army and safety officers in Afghanistan informed the outlet that they concern as much as 10,000 commandos might be tempted by such a proposal, as a lot of them have 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 informed the outlet.
One former Afghan commando officer informed 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 folks 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 stated.
Earlier this yr a video emerged of the group’s suspected founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, a detailed Putin ally, recruiting prisoners from Russian jails to battle in Ukraine in trade for shortened sentences.
1000’s of the Afghan commandos fled to neighboring nations following the Taliban takeover final yr, and lots of at the moment are dropping hope within the risk that they might be settled in Western nations. Many are nonetheless in hiding in Afghanistan.
Afghan media reported that troopers have been being supplied Russian citizenship in trade for combating in Ukraine.
One former Afghan commando captain, 35, informed Overseas Coverage that he had helped join colleagues with a recruitment workplace in Tehran, and those that took up the provide have been flown to Russia by way of 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, stated.
He stated 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 disenchanted. 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 informed the outlet.
The Afghan Elite Nationwide Army Commando Corps, made up of 20,000 to 30,000 volunteers, was partly educated by US Navy SEALs and the British Particular Air Service, per Overseas Coverage.
Whereas, usually, the Afghan Nationwide Protection and Safety Forces have been seen as incompetent, the commandos have been nicely revered.
A former senior Afghan safety official, talking anonymously to Overseas Coverage, stated that the Afghan fighters “can be a game-changer” within the struggle.
