Fleeing grinding poverty and unemployment, thousands of Afghan Shiites have been recruited by Iran to defend Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, former fighters and rights activists say. “I went there (Iran) because I was jobless and it was a way to get money for my family,” said Shams. I had no plan to go to fight in Syria but after a month of being jobless I decided to go. Another man who fought in Syria in 2014 when he was 17, said it was not just Afghans in Fatemiyoun. “Money and the prospect of a guaranteed residency for your family in Iran are major draw cards,” said Shuja.

Source: Dhaka Tribune October 24, 2017 05:03 UTC