Syria

New Details about Recruitment of Young Kyrgyz Men to Fight in Syria

A1132962 The Kyrgyz State Commission on Religious Affairs is verifying recent reports on the recruitment of young Kyrgyz citizens for the rebel war on the Syrian government.

Residents of Kyzyl-Kyya, in Southern Batken region, have appealed to the commission asking for assistance to return the young men from Turkey since the families feared they might be sent to Syria.

An official of the Kyrgyz State Commission on Religious Affairs announced that the commission has received reports on the departure of 7 young Kyrgyz men to Syria who aged between 18 to 36, Kyrgyz news agency, AKI Press, reported on Saturday.

He said that a number of these young men left the Aravan district, Southern Osh region, for Turkey mid March to be dispatched to Syria.

Dastan Jumabekov, a senior Kyrgyz lawmaker, said at a parliament meeting on April 17 that “teenagers are being recruited in the Aravan district of the Osh region and being convinced to go to Syria.” Supposedly, they are being recruited for fighting in Syria and are transported there via Turkey.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against Syrian police forces and border guards being reported across the country.

The US and its western and regional allies have long sought to topple Assad and his ruling system. Media reports said that the Syrian rebels and terrorist groups have received significantly more and better weapons in recent weeks, a crime paid for by the Persian Gulf Arab states and coordinated by the United States.

The US daily, Washington Post, reported in May that the Syrian rebels and terrorist groups battling the President Bashar al-Assad’s government have received significantly more and better weapons in recent weeks, a crime paid for by the Persian Gulf Arab states and coordinated by the United States.

The newspaper, quoting opposition activists and US and foreign officials, reported that Obama administration officials emphasized the administration has expanded contacts with opposition military forces to provide the Persian Gulf nations with assessments of rebel credibility and command-and-control infrastructure.

Opposition activists who several months ago said the rebels were running out of ammunition said in May that the flow of weapons – most bought on the black market in neighboring countries or from elements of the Syrian military in the past – has significantly increased after a decision by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Persian Gulf states to provide millions of dollars in funding each month.

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