Some soldiers belonging to the Afghan army and ISIS gangs who fled from the Taliban and took refuge in Turkey are sent first to Erzurum and then to the Major Mete Yıldırım Base Zone on the border with Rojava.
As many as 2,505,297 people entered Turkey from Iran in in 2023 alone. The majority of these people are Afghan and Pakistani refugees. After being held at the Van Provincial Migration Administration for a while, the Afghans are deported and sent back to their country. However, members of the Afghan army fleeing from Taliban rule and members of the organisation fleeing from ISIS-H, which is known as the Afghanistan branch of ISIS, are subjected to different treatment.
Is Turkey the third country not named by Uzbekistan?
The Taliban completely took over the administration after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. Those fleeing the Taliban's persecution migrated to Turkey via Iran. Members of the Afghan army, on the other hand, preferred to flee the country instead of fighting the Taliban and migrated mainly to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
In a statement made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan, it was said that all Afghan citizens, including soldiers, who fled to Uzbekistan illegally after the Taliban seized control in Afghanistan, left the country in the last two days and travelled to a third country. The name of the third country was not mentioned in the statement. The number of soldiers in question was announced as 585.
The fact that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan did not name a third country brought to mind the question 'Is that country Turkey?
Employed within the scope of voluntary internship
According to the information received, Turkey first includes former Afghan soldiers and ISIS members in the scope of voluntary internship and employment project. This is done on the basis of the Internship Directive prepared on the basis of Article 23 of the Regulation on Duties and Work of the Directorate of Migration Management. Those who are selected from the candidate pool in line with the determined criteria can be employed in any public institution according to their internship preference provinces.
Finally, to Akçakale Military Base and then to Rojava
Afghan army members and ISIS-H members, who are evaluated within this scope and given legitimacy by legal cover, are first sent to Erzurum, where they are kept for a while and then sent to Major Mete Yıldırım Base Area on the Rojava border. It was learned that these people receive military training here, after which they participate in the fighting in Rojava and eventually join the Syrian National Army affiliated to Turkey.
