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Recruitment of Kyrgyz citizens to Syria threatens Kyrgyzstan — vice-premier

BISHKEK, August 20 /TASS/. Kyrgyz citizens’ participation in the armed conflicts in Syria and Iraq on the side of rebel units threatens the security of Kyrgyzstan and other Central Asian states, Abdyrakhman Mamataliyev, the deputy prime minister of Kyrgyzstan, said on Thursday.

"A number of growing transnational threats has an impact on regional security in Central Asia," Mamataliyev said at a meeting with Petko Draganov, the head of the U.N. Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy.

"They include the rapid spread of ideology of radical groups; increased propaganda and recruitment of our compatriots to the ranks of terrorist mercenaries," the Kyrgyz vice-premier said. He expressed particular concern with the fact that the growing number of Kyrgyz nationals was being recruited to Syria and Iraq to fight on the side of the rebel forces.

"The activities of these groups in Syria and Iraq pose a serious threat to international peace and security in our country and the whole region," Mamataliyev said.

"We are taking active steps to implement the U.N. Security Council Resolution with an aim to counteract terrorism and religious extremism," the deputy prime minister of Kyrgyzstan went on to say. He expressed the hope that the United Nations would support the republic’s efforts in this direction.

According to Kyrgyz law enforcers, about 400 Kyrgyz nationals are fighting in the territories of Syria and Iraq on the side of terrorists.