Afghanistan urges Iran to halt use of its nationals as mercenaries in Syria

KABUL: Afghanistan has called on Iran to stop sending Afghan refugees as mercenaries of its proxy war in Syria, after it was revealed that more than 2,000 Afghan combatants had been killed in the war so far.
“The Afghan government opposes any kind of proxy war. As we dismiss proxy war in Afghanistan, we announce our opposition to proxy war in other countries as well,” Shah Hussien Murtazawi, chief spokesman for President Ashraf Ghani, told Arab News.
“The blood of this country’s sons should not be spilt to further the goals and expansionist designs of a few countries ... Afghan sentiments and vulnerabilities should not be exploited for their (Iran’s) goals and objectives.”
In a rare confession, an Afghan official with the “Fatemiyoun Brigade,” which is composed of Afghan Shiites recruited in Iran, at the weekend said that more than 2,000 Iranian-trained members of the force had lost their lives in support of Bashar Assad’s regime.
The official, Zohair Mojahed, who was quoted initially by Iranian media and later became a source for Afghan press too, said that more than 8,000 Afghans had been wounded during Syria’s five-year war.
Afghanistan, which has been locked in four decades of war and foreign interventions, said Iran needed to stop the practice.
Iran has not denied sending Afghan Shiites to war in Syria and Iraq. More than a million Afghan nationals, displaced by their country’s long war, have been living in Iran for decades.
To lure the Afghan refugees, Tehran has offered a series of concessions, such as accommodation, long-term stays in Iran and monetary concessions, in return for taking part in its war in the Middle East, according to former Afghan combatants.
Analyst Matiullah Kharoti said that Iran had used Afghan refugees to fight in its war against Iraq in the 1980s and in its current conflict in the Middle East by offering them incentives. “They are not fighting a sectarian war in the Middle East, but Iran is exploiting their desperation and poverty,” Kharoti told Arab News.
Murtazawi said Kabul was aware of the issue and was addressing it. It was hoping to see a result from its push to end the sending of Afghan refugees living in Iran. “We are in contact through various channels with the neighboring country (Iran) so that this matter is pursued. Talks are underway to get a conclusive outcome,” Murtazawi said.