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İran’ın Şii Afgan Göçmenleri Militan Olarak Kullanması: Liva Fatımiyun Örneği

Year 2021, Volume: 5 Issue: 1, 31 - 53, 30.06.2021
https://doi.org/10.33201/iranian.880171

Abstract

Bu çalışma, İran’a mülteci olarak veya kaçak yollarla gelen Şii Afganların İran tarafından nasıl vekil gruplara dönüştürüldüğünü analiz etmektedir. Bu amaç doğrultusunda Liva Fatımiyun örgütü detaylı olarak incelenmiştir. Liva Fatımiyun örgütü, Afgan Hazaralarından oluşturulan bir vekil örgüttür. Şii Hazaralar yıllardan beri devam eden iç savaştan dolayı Afganistan’ı terk edip İran’a yasal veya kaçak yollarla geçmek durumunda kalmışlardır. Herhangi bir sosyal hakları olmayan ve eğitim sistemine nadiren ulaşabilen mülteciler İran Devrim Muhafızları tarafından zorla, gönüllü veya para karşılığı Liva Fatımiyun örgütüne alınmışlardır. Suriye’de kutsal türbeleri korumak için gönderilen militanlar kendilerini çoğunlukla ileri cephelerde bulmuşlardır. İran’a sağ dönen militanlara oturum gibi çeşitli haklar verilirken, ölenlerin ailelerine vatandaşlık verilmiştir. İran Devrim muhafızlarının kontrolünde olan örgüt bilhassa Suriye’de rejimin yanında aktif olarak savaşmıştır. Çalışmamız yaptığı analiz sonucunda Devrim Muhafızlarının Afganistan’daki savaştan kaçan göçmen ve mültecileri gerek ikna, gerek para gerekse de zorla Liva Fatımiyun’a dahil ederek onların mağduriyetlerini kullandığını iddia etmektedir. Ayrıca, Suriye’de belli bir süre çatışmanın bedeli olarak İran’da oturum alan militanların Afganistan’a dönmeleri halinde İran’ın kontrolü altında çatışma ihtimallerinin olduğunu öne sürmektedir. Nitekim İran Dışişleri Bakanı Cevat Zarif Liva Fatımiyun üyelerinin Afganistan’a dönmeleri gerektiğini beyan etmiştir. Makale için literatür taraması yapılmasının yanısıra, bazı Afganlarla röportajlar yapılmış ve Farsça haber kaynaklarından istifade edilmiştir.

References

  • Al-Dassouky, A., Şaban, N., Abu Hashem, A., Tallaa, M., & Majani A. (2019). The Syrian military establishment in 2019: Sectarianism, militias, and foreign investment. Omran Studies. https://omranstudies.org/publications/books/the-syrian-military-establishment-in-2019-sectarianism,-militias-and-foreign-investment.html
  • Alijani, E., & Hilliar, A. (2014, June 4). Afghan migrants offered $500 by Iran to fight for Syrian regime. France 24. https://observers.france24.com/en/20140604-afghan-migrants-offered-500-iran-fight-pro-assad-mercenaries
  • Bar-Siman-Tow, Y. (1984). The strategy of war by proxy. Cooperation and Conflict, 19(4), 263- 273. https://www.jstor.org/stable/45083584 Byman, D. (2018, August 26). Why states are turning to proxy war. Los Angeles Times. https://nationalinterest.org/feature/why-states-are-turning-proxy-war-29677
  • Deutsch, K. (1964). External involvement in internal wars. In Harry Eckstein (Ed.). Internal war: Problems and approaches. Free Press of Glencoe.
  • Ekşi, M. (2017). The Syrian crisis as a proxy war and the return of the realist great power politics. Uluslararası Kriz ve Siyaset Araştırmaları Dergisi, 1(2), 106-129, https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/391797
  • Fox, A. C. (2019). In pursuit of a general theory of proxy warfare. Institute of Land Warfare Publication.
  • Gannon, K. (2019, April 1). Afghans recruited to fight in Syrian war struggle back home. AP News. https://apnews.com/9dadee87709e4c60ba8f7afe1caec81b
  • Hamidi, M. (2019, July 8). The two faces of the Fatemiyun (I): Revisiting the male fighters. Afghanistan Analysts. https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/reports/regional-relations/the-two-faces-of-the-fatemiyun-i-revisiting-the-male-fighters/
  • Hayat (2020). Bergüzari çehlemin ruz şehadet serdar müdafi haram “seyyiz hahim” der meşhed mukaddes. http://hayat.ir/125-3-128192
  • Human Rights Watch. (2016, January 29). Iran sending thousands of Afghans to fight in Syria. https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/01/29/iran-sending-thousands-afghans-fight-syria.
  • Independent Persian. (2020, December 19). Tevsiye Zarif be Kabil beray istifade ez leşker Fatimiyun der Afğanistan. https://bit.ly/2Pxl4lj
  • Isaar. (2016, May 16). Ceşen tevlid ferzendan erdibhaşti şühedayi Fatimiyon. https://bit.ly/3rRkFHv
  • Jamal, A. S. (2019). The Fatemiyoun army: Reintegration into Afghan society. United States Institute for Peace. https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/2019-03/sr_443-the_fatemiyoun_army_reintegration_into_afghan_society-pdf_0.pdf
  • Jones, S. G. (2019, March 11). War by Proxy: Iran’s Growing Footprint in the Middle East. CSIS Briefs. https://csis-website-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs public/publication/190312_IranProxyWar_FINAL.pdf
  • Kajjo, S. (2018, April 8). Returning from Syria, Iranian-backed Afghan fighters could pose threat. VOA News. https://www.voanews.com/extremism-watch/returning-syria-iranian-backed-afghan-fighters-could-pose-threat
  • Krieg, A. (2016). Externalizing the burden of war: The Obama Doctrine and US foreign policy in the Middle East. International Affairs, 92(1), 97–113, https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2346.12506
  • Latifi, A. M. (2017, June 30). How Iran recruited Afghan refugees to fight Assad’s war. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/30/opinion/sunday/iran-afghanistan-refugees-assad-syria.html
  • Majidyar, A. (2017, January 18). Iran recruits and trains large numbers of Afghan and Pakistani Shiites. Middle East Institute. https://www.mei.edu/publications/iran-recruits-and-trains-large-numbers-afghan-and-pakistani-shiites
  • Mashal, M. & Faizi, F. (2017, November 11). Iran sent them to Syria. Now Afghan fighters are a worry at home. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/11/world/asia/afghanistan-iran-syria-revolutionary-guards.html.
  • Middle East Eye (2018, January 6). More than 2,000 Afghans killed in Syria fighting for Bashar al-Assad: Official. https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/more-2000-afghans-killed-syria-fighting-bashar-al-assad-official.
  • Modafeon (2017). Teşyii peyker se şehid müdafi harem der meshed mukaddes. https://bit.ly/3ul2wmX
  • Mumford, A. (2013). Proxy warfare and the future of conflict. The RUSI Journal, 158(2), 40-46, https://doi.org/10.1080/03071847.2020.1736437
  • Peterson, S. (2016, June 12). Iran steps up recruitment of Shiite mercenaries for Syrian war. CS Monitor. https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2016/0612/Iran-steps-up-recruitment-of-Shiite-mercenaries-for-Syrian-war
  • Pfaff, A. & Granfield, P. (2018, March 27). How (not) to fight proxy wars. National Interest. https://nationalinterest.org/feature/how-not-fight-proxy-wars-25102
  • Saheb Khabar (2020). Şekva veda’ şehida Fat,miyon der zaviya durbinha. https://bit.ly/2PxWwIW
  • Sahraei, F. (2016, April 15). Syria war: The Afghans sent by Iran to fight for Assad. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-36035095. Salaam Times (2020, April 14). Yek makam İrani rivayet Tehran der mord ‘davtalban’ leşker Fatimiyon ranahi kırd. https://afghanistan.asia-news.com/prs/articles/cnmi_st/features/2020/04/14/feature-01
  • Shay, S. (2019, June 10). The threat of the new Shiite “Afghan alumni”. RIEAS. http://www.rieas.gr/images/editorial/shauljune19x.pdf
  • Shirmohammadi, T. (2016, May 5). Itayi tabiyet İran be mehaciran Afğan be behay “şehid şenden”. Deutsch Welle Persian. https://bit.ly/3fCEEax
  • Smyth, P. (2014, June 3). Iran's Afghan Shiite fighters in Syria. The Washington Institute. https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/irans-afghan-shiite-fighters-in-syria
  • Therme, C. (2017). The Shi’a Afghan community: Between transnational links and internal hurdles. Iranian Studies, 50(4), 511-521, https://doi.org/10.1080/00210862.2017.1295537
  • Uskowi, N. (2019). Temperature rising: Iran’s revolutionary guards and wars in the Middle East. Rowman and Littlefield.
  • Washington Institute (2018). Direct Iranian proxies and their front groups involved in Syria https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/pubs/PF138Appendices/PF138_Appendix_4-1.pdf
  • Worcester, M. (2014, August). Putin’s proxy warfare strategy. ISPSW Strategy Series, (Report no. 284), https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/182503/282_Worcester.pdf

Iran's Use of Afghan Shiite Migrants as Proxies: The Case of Liwa Fatemiyoun

Year 2021, Volume: 5 Issue: 1, 31 - 53, 30.06.2021
https://doi.org/10.33201/iranian.880171

Abstract

This study analyzes how migrants are militarized through analyzing an Iranian proxy, namely Liwa Fatemiyoun, as a case study. Liwa Fatemiyoun is a proxy group formed from migrants of the Shiite ethnic group of Afghan Hazaras by Iran. Shiite Hazaras immigrated to Iran due to ongoing civil wars in Afghanistan to find a safe haven. Numbering more than two million and crossing the borders illegally, Hazaras were recruited by the Iranian army either voluntarily or for a certain amount of money or by force. They were sent to Syria to protect holy shrines, but most of them found themselves in fronts. By analyzing the proxy group's formation, this study concludes that Iranian regime guards (IRGC) mostly conscript Afghan migrants and refugees to Liwa Fatemiyoun forcibly thereby exploiting their vulnerability and human rights. Besides, by referring to past experiences, the study asserts that Iran may also move the proxy group to Afghanistan if necessary after US troops' withdrawal. This study mainly wielded news, including those in Persian and institutional reports, and made interviews for its analysis. By examining Liwa Fatemiyoun, the study is expected to contribute to ethnoreligious migration literature from a security perspective.

References

  • Al-Dassouky, A., Şaban, N., Abu Hashem, A., Tallaa, M., & Majani A. (2019). The Syrian military establishment in 2019: Sectarianism, militias, and foreign investment. Omran Studies. https://omranstudies.org/publications/books/the-syrian-military-establishment-in-2019-sectarianism,-militias-and-foreign-investment.html
  • Alijani, E., & Hilliar, A. (2014, June 4). Afghan migrants offered $500 by Iran to fight for Syrian regime. France 24. https://observers.france24.com/en/20140604-afghan-migrants-offered-500-iran-fight-pro-assad-mercenaries
  • Bar-Siman-Tow, Y. (1984). The strategy of war by proxy. Cooperation and Conflict, 19(4), 263- 273. https://www.jstor.org/stable/45083584 Byman, D. (2018, August 26). Why states are turning to proxy war. Los Angeles Times. https://nationalinterest.org/feature/why-states-are-turning-proxy-war-29677
  • Deutsch, K. (1964). External involvement in internal wars. In Harry Eckstein (Ed.). Internal war: Problems and approaches. Free Press of Glencoe.
  • Ekşi, M. (2017). The Syrian crisis as a proxy war and the return of the realist great power politics. Uluslararası Kriz ve Siyaset Araştırmaları Dergisi, 1(2), 106-129, https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/391797
  • Fox, A. C. (2019). In pursuit of a general theory of proxy warfare. Institute of Land Warfare Publication.
  • Gannon, K. (2019, April 1). Afghans recruited to fight in Syrian war struggle back home. AP News. https://apnews.com/9dadee87709e4c60ba8f7afe1caec81b
  • Hamidi, M. (2019, July 8). The two faces of the Fatemiyun (I): Revisiting the male fighters. Afghanistan Analysts. https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/reports/regional-relations/the-two-faces-of-the-fatemiyun-i-revisiting-the-male-fighters/
  • Hayat (2020). Bergüzari çehlemin ruz şehadet serdar müdafi haram “seyyiz hahim” der meşhed mukaddes. http://hayat.ir/125-3-128192
  • Human Rights Watch. (2016, January 29). Iran sending thousands of Afghans to fight in Syria. https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/01/29/iran-sending-thousands-afghans-fight-syria.
  • Independent Persian. (2020, December 19). Tevsiye Zarif be Kabil beray istifade ez leşker Fatimiyun der Afğanistan. https://bit.ly/2Pxl4lj
  • Isaar. (2016, May 16). Ceşen tevlid ferzendan erdibhaşti şühedayi Fatimiyon. https://bit.ly/3rRkFHv
  • Jamal, A. S. (2019). The Fatemiyoun army: Reintegration into Afghan society. United States Institute for Peace. https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/2019-03/sr_443-the_fatemiyoun_army_reintegration_into_afghan_society-pdf_0.pdf
  • Jones, S. G. (2019, March 11). War by Proxy: Iran’s Growing Footprint in the Middle East. CSIS Briefs. https://csis-website-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs public/publication/190312_IranProxyWar_FINAL.pdf
  • Kajjo, S. (2018, April 8). Returning from Syria, Iranian-backed Afghan fighters could pose threat. VOA News. https://www.voanews.com/extremism-watch/returning-syria-iranian-backed-afghan-fighters-could-pose-threat
  • Krieg, A. (2016). Externalizing the burden of war: The Obama Doctrine and US foreign policy in the Middle East. International Affairs, 92(1), 97–113, https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2346.12506
  • Latifi, A. M. (2017, June 30). How Iran recruited Afghan refugees to fight Assad’s war. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/30/opinion/sunday/iran-afghanistan-refugees-assad-syria.html
  • Majidyar, A. (2017, January 18). Iran recruits and trains large numbers of Afghan and Pakistani Shiites. Middle East Institute. https://www.mei.edu/publications/iran-recruits-and-trains-large-numbers-afghan-and-pakistani-shiites
  • Mashal, M. & Faizi, F. (2017, November 11). Iran sent them to Syria. Now Afghan fighters are a worry at home. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/11/world/asia/afghanistan-iran-syria-revolutionary-guards.html.
  • Middle East Eye (2018, January 6). More than 2,000 Afghans killed in Syria fighting for Bashar al-Assad: Official. https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/more-2000-afghans-killed-syria-fighting-bashar-al-assad-official.
  • Modafeon (2017). Teşyii peyker se şehid müdafi harem der meshed mukaddes. https://bit.ly/3ul2wmX
  • Mumford, A. (2013). Proxy warfare and the future of conflict. The RUSI Journal, 158(2), 40-46, https://doi.org/10.1080/03071847.2020.1736437
  • Peterson, S. (2016, June 12). Iran steps up recruitment of Shiite mercenaries for Syrian war. CS Monitor. https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2016/0612/Iran-steps-up-recruitment-of-Shiite-mercenaries-for-Syrian-war
  • Pfaff, A. & Granfield, P. (2018, March 27). How (not) to fight proxy wars. National Interest. https://nationalinterest.org/feature/how-not-fight-proxy-wars-25102
  • Saheb Khabar (2020). Şekva veda’ şehida Fat,miyon der zaviya durbinha. https://bit.ly/2PxWwIW
  • Sahraei, F. (2016, April 15). Syria war: The Afghans sent by Iran to fight for Assad. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-36035095. Salaam Times (2020, April 14). Yek makam İrani rivayet Tehran der mord ‘davtalban’ leşker Fatimiyon ranahi kırd. https://afghanistan.asia-news.com/prs/articles/cnmi_st/features/2020/04/14/feature-01
  • Shay, S. (2019, June 10). The threat of the new Shiite “Afghan alumni”. RIEAS. http://www.rieas.gr/images/editorial/shauljune19x.pdf
  • Shirmohammadi, T. (2016, May 5). Itayi tabiyet İran be mehaciran Afğan be behay “şehid şenden”. Deutsch Welle Persian. https://bit.ly/3fCEEax
  • Smyth, P. (2014, June 3). Iran's Afghan Shiite fighters in Syria. The Washington Institute. https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/irans-afghan-shiite-fighters-in-syria
  • Therme, C. (2017). The Shi’a Afghan community: Between transnational links and internal hurdles. Iranian Studies, 50(4), 511-521, https://doi.org/10.1080/00210862.2017.1295537
  • Uskowi, N. (2019). Temperature rising: Iran’s revolutionary guards and wars in the Middle East. Rowman and Littlefield.
  • Washington Institute (2018). Direct Iranian proxies and their front groups involved in Syria https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/pubs/PF138Appendices/PF138_Appendix_4-1.pdf
  • Worcester, M. (2014, August). Putin’s proxy warfare strategy. ISPSW Strategy Series, (Report no. 284), https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/182503/282_Worcester.pdf
There are 33 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects International Relations
Journal Section Makaleler
Authors

İbrahim Karataş 0000-0002-2125-1840

Publication Date June 30, 2021
Published in Issue Year 2021 Volume: 5 Issue: 1

Cite

APA Karataş, İ. (2021). Iran’s Use of Afghan Shiite Migrants as Proxies: The Case of Liwa Fatemiyoun. İran Çalışmaları Dergisi, 5(1), 31-53. https://doi.org/10.33201/iranian.880171

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