Salafis coaxing central Asian youths into fighting in Syria

A prominent Russian expert warned of the different brain-washing methods used by Salafi groups to persuade the young people in the Central Asian states to fight in Syria. “The nationals of Russia and the Central Asia are attracted by baits like religious training and then are brain-washed and sent to Syria,” Alexander Kniazev, a famous political expert and director of the regional office of the Russia CIS Institute, told FNA on Saturday. He said some members of the militant groups in the Central Asia even receive their basic military trainings and become prepared psychologically for battles in the target countries (like Syria) in their homelands. Kniazev described Turkey and the UAE as two main routes used by the militant groups to dispatch fresh forces to Syria. The conflict in Syria started in March 2011, when sporadic pro-reform protests turned into a massive insurgency following the intervention of western and regional states. The unrest, which took in terrorist groups from across Europe, the Middle-East, Central Asia and North Africa, has transpired as one of the bloodiest conflicts in recent history. As the foreign-backed insurgency in Syria continues without an end in sight, the US government has boosted its political and military support to Takfiri and Salafi extremists. Washington has remained indifferent to warnings by Russia and other world powers about the consequences of arming militant groups.