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| In late 2023, representatives from Tajikistan and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan were negotiating the status of Jamaat Ansarullah in the latter’s territory. The Tajik government reportedly wanted the members of the group extradited while the Afghan government offered to mediate between both groups instead. The leadership of Jamaat Ansarullah said they would only negotiate with the Tajik government if the latter agreed to several conditions including explore the ] and declare an ]. Tajikistan rejected both, amongst other conditions.<ref>{{Cite web |last=guillermo |title=Tajikistan’s Afghan Conundrum - Foreign Policy Research Institute |url=https://www.fpri.org/article/2024/11/tajikistans-afghan-conundrum/ |access-date=2024-12-30 |website=www.fpri.org |language=en-US}}</ref> | In late 2023, representatives from Tajikistan and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan were negotiating the status of Jamaat Ansarullah in the latter’s territory. The Tajik government reportedly wanted the members of the group extradited while the Afghan government offered to mediate between both groups instead. The leadership of Jamaat Ansarullah said they would only negotiate with the Tajik government if the latter agreed to several conditions including explore the ] and declare an ]. Tajikistan rejected both, amongst other conditions.<ref>{{Cite web |last=guillermo |title=Tajikistan’s Afghan Conundrum - Foreign Policy Research Institute |url=https://www.fpri.org/article/2024/11/tajikistans-afghan-conundrum/ |access-date=2024-12-30 |website=www.fpri.org |language=en-US}}</ref> | ||
| == Membership == | |||
| == Manpower and recruitment == | |||
| Jamaat Ansarullah is reported to have between 100 to 200 fighters within Afghanistan. Much of it’s original membership were fighters and supporters loyal Tabarov’s who rejected the 1997 armistice ending the Tajik Civil War. The current and second generation of membership are the children and relatives of the above.<ref name=":1" /> A majority of them are Tajik citizens coming from the Tajik regions of ], ], and ].<ref name=":3" /> | |||
| Much of them are the children and relatives of the original generation of fighters. Other reports indicate it has less than 100 fighters.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Roggio |first=Bill |last2=Tobin |first2=Andrew |date=2022-05-25 |title=Tajik terrorist serves as Taliban commander in northern Afghanistan |url=https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2022/05/tajik-terrorist-serves-as-taliban-commander-in-northern-afghanistan.php |access-date=2022-08-23 |website=] |language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
| In 2017, the Singapore-based International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research reported that the group had less than 100 fighters, and thus didn’t have the manpower to overthrow the Tajik government.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bahrom |first=By Nadin |title=New threats from Jamaat Ansarullah hollow, observers say |url=https://central.asia-news.com/en_GB/articles/cnmi_ca/features/2017/03/22/feature-02 |access-date=2024-12-30 |website=Caravanserai |language=en-GB}}</ref> However, an officer from the Tajik Border Patrol said in an interview to ] that the group’s current leader, Muhammad Sharifov, “introduced” 200 members to Afghanistan in July 2021.<ref name=":1" /> Despite it’s current size, the organization also works to recruit members from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Central Asia, and Russia.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tobin |first=Bill Roggio & Andrew |date=2022-05-25 |title=Tajik terrorist serves as Taliban commander in northern Afghanistan |url=https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2022/05/tajik-terrorist-serves-as-taliban-commander-in-northern-afghanistan.php |access-date=2024-12-30 |website=FDD's Long War Journal |language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
| Ansarullah also recruits from Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Central Asia, and Russia. The individual who perpetrated the 2010 suicide bombing of a police station in Khujand was reported to have been trained in an al-Qaeda training camp.<ref name=":1" /> | |||
| == Aims and objectives == | == Aims and objectives == | ||
Revision as of 02:29, 30 December 2024
Tajik Islamist group Not to be confused with Ansar Allah.
Jamaat Ansarullah (Tajik: Ҷамоати Ансоруллоҳ, Persian: جماعت انصارالله), also known as the Tajik Taliban or Tehrik-e-Taliban Tajikistan, is a Tajik Islamic fundamentalist militant group operating out of Northeastern Afghanistan with the intention of overthrowing the current government of Tajikistan. The organization emerged from Islamist factions of the United Tajik Opposition opposed to the 1997 armistice that ended the Tajikistani Civil War. As of July 2021, the organization has served as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s partial border security for the Afghan-Tajik border.
History
Jamaat Ansarullah was founded by Amriddin Tobarov in 2006. Tobarov was a former field commander of the Islamist faction within the United Tajik Opposition. The organization’s original members were former UTO members who refused to accept the 1997 armistice that ended the Tajik Civil War. The group first publicized its presence in 2010 by claiming responsibility for the September 3 car bombing of a police station in Khujand that killed three and injured 25.According to the Tajik government, Jamaat Ansarullah was also linked to insurgents fighting in the Rasht District that have since been suppressed.
In 2015, the Police of Tajikistan arrested 10 men residing in Isfara between the ages of 30 and 38 on suspicion of joining Jamaat Ansarullah. The men were found guilty by the Sughd Regional Court and sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in jail. Earlier that year, the Sughd Regional Court’s branch in Istaravshan sentenced 13 men to lengthy prison sentences for being group members. In March, the same court sentenced a man to nine years in prison for being a member of the group.
Tobarov, the group’s leader, would be killed by Afghan security forces during a combat operation on January 27, 2016.Muhammad Shafirov succeed him shortly after.
Jamaat Ansarullah also caught the attention of the Afghan government in November 2020, when social media was posted of it’s fighters brutally killing Afghan National Army officers in uniform. The video itself purportedly showed the fall of the Maimay district to the Taliban.
In July 2021, the organization’s Afghan-based fighters were entrusted by the Taliban with security of Northern Badakhshan. After the Fall of Kabul on August 15, 2021, Tajik officials were reviewing reports of Jamaat Asadullah planning to infiltrate Tajikistan. During this time Tajik president, Emomali Rahmon, deployed 20,000 soldiers of the Tajik Ground Forces to the Afghan-Tajik border.
In July 2022, Tajik security forces noticed a guard tower that was built with assistance from the Taliban across from the Darvoz district. The group’s name was also tagged on a rock on the base of the guard tower, being meant as a threat to Tajik authorities. According to an official from the Tajik Border Troops, members of the group walk demonstratively along the Panj everyday, or drive their cars in the area to verbally harass them via loudspeaker.
On April 26, 2023, the State Committee for National Security counter-terrorism forces killed three fighters of Jamaat Ansarullah in the village of Dashti Yazoglum. Both men intended to internally destabilize Tajikistan.
Another incident occurred on September 6, 2023, the State Committee for National Security counter-terrorism unit killed three fighters of Jamaat Ansarullah. The clash occurred in the Darvoz district after the latter refused to surrender. According to state media outlet Khovar, the men were intended to carry out “terrorist acts.” The unit also seized night-vision devices, M16 rifles, and M15 pistols smuggled from Afghanistan.
In late 2023, representatives from Tajikistan and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan were negotiating the status of Jamaat Ansarullah in the latter’s territory. The Tajik government reportedly wanted the members of the group extradited while the Afghan government offered to mediate between both groups instead. The leadership of Jamaat Ansarullah said they would only negotiate with the Tajik government if the latter agreed to several conditions including explore the Russian 201st Military Base and declare an Islamic state. Tajikistan rejected both, amongst other conditions.
Membership
Jamaat Ansarullah is reported to have between 100 to 200 fighters within Afghanistan. Much of it’s original membership were fighters and supporters loyal Tabarov’s who rejected the 1997 armistice ending the Tajik Civil War. The current and second generation of membership are the children and relatives of the above. A majority of them are Tajik citizens coming from the Tajik regions of Sughd, Khatlon, and Rasht Valley.
In 2017, the Singapore-based International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research reported that the group had less than 100 fighters, and thus didn’t have the manpower to overthrow the Tajik government. However, an officer from the Tajik Border Patrol said in an interview to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that the group’s current leader, Muhammad Sharifov, “introduced” 200 members to Afghanistan in July 2021. Despite it’s current size, the organization also works to recruit members from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Central Asia, and Russia.
Aims and objectives
The group aims to overthrow the current Tajik government and replace it with an Islamic state governed by Sharia law. In 2011, it issued a series of videos stating that Muslims who observed Salah and fasted but still supported democracy were infidels, and that God is killing unbelievers through them, therefore, they are blessed.
Ideology
The ideology of Jamaat Ansarullah is more similar to that of the Afghan Taliban, Pakistani Taliban, Al-Qaeda, Ansar al-Islam in Kurdistan, and the Turkistan Islamic Party, with similar goals as well. This ideology is different from the Ideology of the Islamic State. The organisation aims to spread Islamic extremism to enforce Afghan Taliban-style fundamentalist Islam and Sharia law in Tajikistan and turn Tajikistan into an Islamic Emirate similar to Afghanistan.
References
- Sweet, Julia (2022). "Jamaat Ansarullah (JA) Commander, Mahdi Arsalan, Ready To Invade the Shamsiddin Shokhin District (Shuroabad) in Khatlon region of Tajikistan - 06 October 2021". TRAC. Retrieved 2023-02-14.
- ^ "طالبان تاجیکستان اعلام موجودیت کرد! - خبرآنلاین". www.khabaronline.ir (in Persian).
- "Tajikistan suicide car bomb injures 25 in Khujand". BBC News. 2010-09-03. Retrieved 2024-12-29.
- ^ "Tajikistan Jails 10 As Members Of Banned Islamic Group". www.rferl.org. Retrieved 2024-12-29.
- ^ "Exclusive: Taliban Puts Tajik Militants Partially In Charge Of Afghanistan's Northern Border". www.rferl.org. Retrieved 2024-12-29.
- ^ Tobin, Bill Roggio & Andrew (2022-05-25). "Tajik terrorist serves as Taliban commander in northern Afghanistan". FDD's Long War Journal. Retrieved 2024-12-29.
- "ГКНБ Таджикистана сообщил имена активных членов группировки мулло Абдулло - Новости Таджикистана - Avesta.tj" (in Russian). 2011-04-19. Retrieved 2024-12-29.
- Press, Khaama (2016-01-27). "Leader of Tajik terrorist movement Jamaat Ansarullah killed in Afghanistan". Khaama Press. Retrieved 2024-12-29.
- "Tajikistan Concerned About Taliban Plots To Infiltrate From Afghanistan". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 2021-09-29. Retrieved 2024-12-29.
- Ahmadi, Mumin. "Tajikistan Concerned By Provocative Taliban Watchtower On Border". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 2024-12-30.
- "Understanding Jamaat Ansarullah: Ideological Shifts and O..." thekhorasandiary.com. 2023-11-06. Retrieved 2024-12-30.
- KabulNow (2023-09-06). "Tajikistan kills 3 Jamaat Ansarullah militants on Afghanistan border l KabulNow". KabulNow. Retrieved 2024-12-30.
- guillermo. "Tajikistan's Afghan Conundrum - Foreign Policy Research Institute". www.fpri.org. Retrieved 2024-12-30.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:1was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - Cite error: The named reference
:3was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - Bahrom, By Nadin. "New threats from Jamaat Ansarullah hollow, observers say". Caravanserai. Retrieved 2024-12-30.
- Tobin, Bill Roggio & Andrew (2022-05-25). "Tajik terrorist serves as Taliban commander in northern Afghanistan". FDD's Long War Journal. Retrieved 2024-12-30.
- Rotar, Igor (2012-09-12). "Islamic Extremist Group Jamaat Ansarullah Overcomes Tajikistan's Inter-Tribal Conflicts". Eurasia Daily Monitor. 9 (174) – via Jamestown foundation.
- Hussain, Zahid (2022). Frontline Afghanistan and Tajikistan: The Struggle with Militant Islam. Columbia University Press. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-231-14224-3.
The pro-Taliban Tajik jihadist group emerged in 2022 ... Afghanistan had become home to islamist militant groups ... among them were al-Qaeda,Haqqani,Afghan taliban to Tajikistani Taliban. All these paramilitary groups, originally from the same source, had similar motivations and goals.