Former Afghan soldiers find their way to “Wagner”.
Thousands of ex-pats who have lost their status and are left in a desperate situation in Iran afghan military Ukraine and they think about fighting as mercenaries in other battlefields. Most of them USAare elite commandos trained by the Taliban and accused Washington of leaving them alone after the Taliban seized power last year. They explain their decision to join Russian mercenaries on the grounds of poverty and security.
Radio Azadi service of Azadlig Radio “WhatsApp” already some of the messages afghan it became clear that the commandos are taking steps to join the “Wagner” group.
Thousands of ex-servicemen who were forced to move to Iran after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021 say they live in extreme poverty, doing cheap manual labor and even scavenging in garbage to make ends meet.
USA and trained by Western allies Afghan National The army and its elite commando forces were the backbone of the former Afghan government’s efforts to defend the country and protect it from extremist groups such as the Taliban and the Islamic State.
Former Afghan soldiers in Iran now USA and they say the Afghan government he supports has betrayed them in return for their services. Many blame them for their current situation.
“Traitor of your country the president after the fall of their regime [ABŞ] They sold us and the country to terrorists [Talibana] they gave”– an ex-serviceman, who did not want to be named, said that ex-soldiers “WhatsApp” he says in the voice message he sent to his group.
“We had no place to live in Afghanistan because the Taliban terrorists were chasing us. They caught some of our comrades and beheaded them. We were also forced to leave Afghanistan.” – that soldier says in the audio message sent on December 3.
Although RFE/RL has not been able to independently verify the authenticity of the soldier’s claims, there are numerous documented cases of extrajudicial killings of former Afghan soldiers and government employees. Only in the first months of Taliban rule 10It is reported that up to 0 such cases have been registered.
The idea that the United States sold them out, that the former government of Afghanistan stole the funds allocated to the army, and therefore did not resist the Taliban, is also widespread among ex-servicemen.
A report recently published by “Business Insider” confirms these claims once again. The authors of the report are ex-officials of Afghanistan on the eve of the fall of the government from the country 1 billion they found out that he took out the dollar in the form of gold and cash.
In November, the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) singled out corruption as one of the factors that hastened the fall of the Afghan government and the Taliban’s recapture of the country.
The US and its Western allies reportedly left behind tens of thousands of ex-soldiers after they left Afghanistan on August 30, 2021.
Up to 80,000 at-risk Afghans are said to have been airlifted out of the country, but tens of thousands more had no choice but to leave the country or join the Taliban or one of its enemies. According to some estimates, up to 30,000 former Afghan soldiers managed to cross over to Iran.
“WhatsApp” past that spread the message soldier He says that he lived in Iran for several months, and now he accepted the offer of the “Wagner” group and signed up to fight in Ukraine.
“Afghanistan, NATO and the US took us in when we were young and then dumped us. Russia started a program, they gather certain units and lead them to the war in Ukraine. A soldier several of our comrades have been written and we are going to Russia soon.” – he says.
Another one who sends a voice message to a WhatsApp group and speaks anonymously soldier also mentioned that he came to Iran with a group of his colleagues to join “Wagner”. He said that he was aware of these efforts of Iran’s “Wagner” group and even helped to transfer Afghan soldiers to Russia.
“When we were in Afghanistan, there was a rumor that ex-servicemen Iran they went to Russia through We are registered here in Iran. A few people before us [Rusiyaya] spent”, – he said.
Former Afghan soldiers receive permanent citizenship in Russia in exchange for fighting in Ukraine offer said that it was done.
The former special forces officer said that his decision to join the “Wagner” group was related to his safety in Afghanistan, that he and his fellow soldiers were forced to hide and live in poverty for 14 months in the homeland. He hopes that thanks to this opportunity, he will be able to provide a better life for his family.
“We came alone, but many of those who were transferred earlier are now with their families [Rusiyadadırlar]. “We decided to leave because of our situation and that of our children.” – he speaks.
“We couldn’t leave the house, many of our friends were caught and killed, and many like me fled to Iran or Tajikistan.” – he says.
Based on his conversations with other soldiers, the former Afghan officer calculated that up to 2,500 Afghan soldiers left Afghanistan with the intention of going to Russia. 2,500 for six months of training dollars money, and another 3 thousand after going to Ukraine to fight dollars promised.
These numbers coincide with other statements about Wagner’s manpower recruitment efforts. In those statements and reports, former soldiers of the Afghan special forces and their families were offered safe living in Russia and 1,500 per month. dollars is said to have been promised.
The spokesperson of the US State Department stated in his written response to RFE/RL’s questions that the department is aware of unconfirmed reports of Wagner’s group recruiting among former Afghan soldiers living outside Afghanistan.
“We understand that some Afghans may accept Wagner’s offer for money, but not everyone of Ukraine We urge you to stay away from its illegal occupation”, said the spokesman, adding that the Wagner group “Russia is being used by his government to support his dangerous and destabilizing foreign policy, but also tries to deny it.
As for the claims of the Afghan soldiers that the United States abandoned them, the spokesman admitted that the Afghans are facing difficulties, but added that they continue to monitor the economic situation in Afghanistan and “help the Afghan people whenever possible.”