History and Biodata |
Background:
Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister has reiterated his suggestion that the beleaguered Afghan government of President Ashraf Ghani could utilize members of the Fatemiyoun militia, recruited by Iran to fight in Syria. Zarif said Iran was prepared to help the Ghani government incorporate Fatemiyoun fighters into the army. “The Afghan government is fully informed that we are prepared to help the Afghan government regroup these forces under the leadership of the Afghan National Army in the fight against terrorism,” Zarif said. “If so, they must fight in Afghanistan under the leadership of the Afghan government as all forces in Syria were fighting under the leadership of the Syrian government.”(20201221)
When the Syrian civil war erupted in 2011, the IRGC sent military advisers and deployed thousands of trained Shi’ite fighters to prop up the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Among them was the Fatemiyoun Brigade, comprising mainly Afghans from the Shi'ite Hazara minority. The Fatemiyoun Brigade included veterans of the Abuzar Brigade, an Afghan militia made up of Shi’a that fought on Iran’s side in the war against Iraq.(20210907) |