from Sepia@mander.xyz to world@lemmy.world on 24 Jan 09:27
https://mander.xyz/post/46106605
cross-posted from: mander.xyz/post/46106380
…
“Are you young, healthy and between the ages of 18 and 40? Sign a contract with the Russian Federal Army. The reward: a signing bonus of between $8,000 and $30,000, and a salary of nearly $3,000 [€2,500] per month.”
The advertisement is accompanied by an image of a soldier in action, in a dark and dramatic setting, wearing a modern uniform, tactical vest and helmet and carrying a sophisticated combat rifle.
Messages like these, aimed at potential recruits in the Middle East, can be seen regularly on Telegram groups, accompanied by telephone numbers with the Russian country code (+7).
One of these groups is named Sadiq Rossia – “friend of Russia” in Arabic. …
Officially, Iraq has chosen neutrality in the war between Russia and Ukraine.
But the country is recovering from two decades of internal conflict and powerful Shia militias coexist with the government. Created in 2014 to fight the Islamic State group, these militias have since been integrated into the Iraqi forces. Their political influence is considerable and some are known to have close ties to Moscow.
“These militias are not loyal to Iraq. They have pledged allegiance to Iran and gravitate towards Tehran’s allies, and therefore Russia’s. We also know that one of these militias, Al-Nujaba, is close to Moscow,” explains Mohaned Al Janabi, professor of political science in Iraq.
The leader of the Al-Nujaba militia, Akram al-Kaabi, was recently hosted at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This militia fought alongside the Russians in Syria and had links with mercenaries from the Wagner Group.
The researcher estimates that around 1,500 Iraqis have been deployed to Russia.
…
#world
threaded - newest