QURGHON TEPPA, January 26, 2015, Asia-Plus — Two residents of the Tajik southern city of Sarband are fighting alongside antigovernment forces in Syria.
“They have gone to Syria through fault of their parents,” Sarband Mayor Qarakhon Chillazoda told Asia-Plus in an interview.
“They had previously studied at the Institute of Physical Training but their parents made them drop their studies at the Institute of Physical Training and enter the Islamic Institute. After the second year they were sent to continue studying to Syria, where they joined antigovernment forces,” Chillazoda said, noting that criminal proceedings have been instituted against them.
Meanwhile, Chairman of Khatlon’s Bokhtar District, Jabbor Ghaffor, said that three residents of the district had been killed in actions in Syria.
According to data of the Khatlon prosecutor’s office, 31 residents of the province are participating in foreign armed conflicts, including armed conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.
It is to be noted that the Tajik law enforcement agencies have given differing reports on the numbers of Tajik nationals fighting in Syria and Iraq. Thus, the Interior Ministry said that around 200 Tajik nationals are fighting gin Syria and Iraq. However, the State Committee for the National Security (SCNS) said in November 2014 that there are around 300 Tajik citizens fighting in Syria and Iraq.
Experts note that most Tajiks who travel to Syria to join militant groups were migrant workers recruited in Russia.
