Russians being recruited for Afghan war

At Uzbek Embassy in Moscow, an illegal recruiting center recruits mercenaries for the war in Afghanistan. The armed Forces and military intelligence of Uzbekistan have started to recruit Russians into general Rashid Dustum’s army, which appears to wage war with the Taliban in Afghanistan. This was reported today by APN. Former “Afghans” are preferred, ex-Soviet militaries possessing certain skills and military experience. This information has already penetrated into the press, though Russian Defence Ministry officials strongly have denied it. Defence minister Sergei Ivanov directly said, “No Russian soldier will not participate in the military actions in Afghanistan; there is simply no necessity of it. The minister did not palter while saying this. Really, former “Afghans” hardly could be regarded as members of the regular army. Recruitment of mercenaries is being carried out practically illegally, though the Armed Forces’ General Staff and the General Staff’s Main Intelligence Office have been informed about it. The mercenaries are supposed to receive a monthly pay of $5000, while middlemen receive brokerage equal to the half of the mercenary’s monthly salary.

Dmitry Litvinovich PRAVDA.Ru

Read the original in Russian: http://www.pravda.ru/main/2001/11/05/33429.html