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Afghan peculiar forces soldiers who fought alongside American troops and past fled to Iran aft the chaotic US withdrawal past year are present being recruited by the Russian subject to combat successful Ukraine, 3 erstwhile Afghan generals person told the Associated Press.
They said the Russians privation to pull thousands of the erstwhile elite Afghan commandos into a “foreign legion” with offers of steady, $1,500-a-month payments and promises of harmless havens for themselves and their families truthful they tin debar deportation location to what galore presume would beryllium decease astatine the hands of the Taliban.
“They don’t privation to spell combat – but they person nary choice,” said 1 of the generals, Abdul Raof Arghandiwal, adding that the twelve oregon truthful commandos successful Iran with whom helium has texted fearfulness deportation most. “They inquire me, ‘Give maine a solution? What should we do? If we spell backmost to Afghanistan, the Taliban volition termination us.’”
Arghandiwal said the recruiting was led by the Russian mercenary unit Wagner Group. Another general, Hibatullah Alizai, the past Afghan service main earlier the Taliban took over, said the effort was besides being helped by a erstwhile Afghan peculiar forces commandant who lived successful Russia and speaks the language.
The Russian recruitment follows months of warnings from US soldiers who fought with Afghan peculiar forces that the Taliban was intent connected sidesplitting them and that they mightiness articulation with US enemies to enactment live oregon retired of choler with their erstwhile ally.
“We didn’t get these individuals retired arsenic we promised, and present it’s coming location to roost,” said Michael Mulroy, a retired CIA serviceman who served successful Afghanistan, adding that the Afghan commandos were highly skilled, fierce fighters. “I don’t privation to spot them successful immoderate battlefield, frankly, but surely not warring the Ukrainians.”
Details of the effort were archetypal reported by Foreign Policy magazine past week based connected unnamed Afghan subject and information sources. The recruitment comes arsenic Russian forces reel from Ukrainian subject advances and Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, pursues a sputtering mobilization effort, which has prompted astir 200,000 Russian men to fly the state to flight service.
Russia’s defence ministry did not respond to a petition for comment. A spokesperson for Yevgeny Prigozhin, who precocious acknowledged being the laminitis of the Wagner Group, dismissed the thought of an ongoing effort to enlistee erstwhile Afghan soldiers arsenic “crazy nonsense”.
The US defence section besides did not reply to a petition for comment, but a elder authoritative suggested the recruiting was not astonishing fixed that Wagner has been trying to motion up soldiers successful respective different countries.
It is unclear however galore Afghan peculiar forces members who fled to Iran person been courted by the Russians, but 1 told the AP helium was communicating done the WhatsApp chat work with astir 400 different commandos who are considering offers.
The commando said his connection included Russian visas for himself arsenic good arsenic his 3 children and woman who are inactive successful Afghanistan. Others person been offered extensions of their visas successful Iran. He said helium was waiting to spot what others successful the WhatsApp groups determine but thought galore would instrumentality the deal.
US veterans who fought with Afghan peculiar forces person described to the AP astir a twelve cases, nary confirmed independently, of the Taliban going location to location looking for commandos inactive successful the country, torturing oregon sidesplitting them, oregon doing the aforesaid to household members.
Human Rights Watch has said much than 100 erstwhile Afghan soldiers, quality officers and constabulary were killed oregon forcibly “disappeared” conscionable 3 months aft the Taliban took implicit contempt promises of amnesty.
The member of an Afghan commando successful Iran who has accepted the Russian connection said Taliban threats marque it hard to refuse. He said his member had to fell for 3 months aft the autumn of Kabul, shuttling betwixt relatives’ houses portion the Taliban searched his home.
“My member had nary different prime different than accepting the offer,” said the commando’s brother, Murad, who would lone springiness his archetypal sanction due to the fact that of fearfulness the Taliban mightiness way him down. “This was not an casual determination for him.”
One erstwhile worker sent a substance to Arghandiwal, reading: “You get subject grooming successful Russia for 2 months, and past you spell to the conflict lines.”
English (US)