La evolución de los combatientes extranjeros

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La evolución de los combatientes extranjeros

Alisa Fainberg

    
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La evolución de los combatientes extranjeros

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Here We Come: TheEvolution of Foreign

ighters’ low to Syria and

Iraq in 2013 2016

 

Dr. Alisa Fainberg, (Visiting Fellow, ICT)Winter 2017

 

 

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ABSTRACT

The very phenomenon of foreign fighters has a long historyand appears to be well known and explored to a certainextent. However, unlike previous conflicts with participation of jihadist foreign fighters, the current flow toSyria and Iraq is characterized by unprecedented growthdynamics and diversity of both origins (geographical andreligious) and affiliations. The phenomenon of foreign fighters today has moved beyond the Middle East conflictand has turned into an international phenomenon, not leastbecause of technological and communication developments.Foreign fighters pose great challenges to the internationalcommunity, governments, security services and civil society.

**The views expressed in this publication are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the International Institute forCounter-Terrorism (ICT).

 

 

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Table of Contents

Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 4Notes on Methodology ......................................................................................................... 6The Evolution of the Foreign Fighters' Phenomenon: From Afghanistan to Syria and Iraq .. 7Data Analysis ......................................................................................................................... 10Sunni Jihadists .................................................................................................................... 10MENA Region ................................................................................................................ 11Western Countries ........................................................................................................... 13Russia and a Case Study of Chechen Foreign Fighters .................................................. 15Central Asia .................................................................................................................... 18Western Balkans ............................................................................................................. 21Southeast Asia ................................................................................................................. 22Shia Jihadists Sponsored by Iran........................................................................................ 24Kurds Supporters ................................................................................................................ 26The Flow of Foreign Fighters to Syria and Iraq .................................................................... 27Rise and Golden Age ......................................................................................................... 28Decadence and Survival Stage ........................................................................................... 32Trapped in the Network: A Case Study of Foreign Fighters from Germany ........................ 36Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 39Bibliography .......................................................................................................................... 42

 

 

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Introduction

Since the Syrian conflict broke out in 2011, tens of thousands of foreign fightersfrom all over the globe have travelled to join militant groups thereat.The very phenomenon of foreign fighters has a long history and appears to be wellknown and explored to a certain extent. However thus far there is no commonly accepted

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 it seems ambiguous and is understood differentlyby different people.For the purposes of this paper a definition provided by the UN Security Council willbe used as a ba

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attempt to travel to a State other than their States of residence or nationality, and otherindividuals who travel or attempt to travel from their territories to a State other than theirStates of residence or nationality, for the purpose of the perpetration, planning, orpreparation of, or participation in, terrorist acts, or the providing or receiving of terrorist

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 The definition seems to becomprehensive, but there are some caveats to be addressed. First of all, the diversity of theparties involved in the Syrian conflict, are a cause of adjustments in the definition: it seemscorrect to not limit the definition of foreign fighters only to those who join terrorist entities,since a significant number of foreign fighters participating in the Syrian conflict affiliatewith government forces, or Kurdish groups. Secondly, the flow of foreign fighters in Syriabrings to the ranks of various groups not exclusively combatants, but a wide range of civilprofessionals: doctors, engineers, technical experts, hackers, etc., as well as general workerswho are engaged in all types of military and civil activities. Moreover, the definition doesnot cover the issue of motivation, which, according to researchers

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 is primarily based onideology, religious affiliations, family or kinship links, and less on payments.

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 "

Threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts,"

Security Council Resolutions

, September 24,2014, accessed January 2, 2017. http://www.un.org/en/sc/documents/resolutions/2014/shtml

 

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 See: David Malet, "Foreign Fighters: Transnational Identities in Foreign Conflicts,"

Oxford: University Press, 2013, p.9

; Colgan and Hegghammer, "Islamic Foreign Fighters: Concept and Data". Paper presented at the International StudiesAssociation Annual Convention, Montreal, 2011, p. 6; Orla Hennessy, "The Phenomenon of Foreign Fighters inEurope,"

 ICCT Background Note

, July 2012, accessed January 2, 2017. http://www.icct.nl/download/file/ICCT-Hennessy-Phenomenon-of-Foreign-Fighters-Europe-July-2012.pdf; "Foreign Fighters under International Law,"October 2014, accessed January 2, 2017.