What is it?
The Fatemiyoun Division (Persian pronunciation Lashkar-e Fâtemiyun) is an armed unit made up mostly of Afghan migrants and refugees living in Iran. Lashkar means "division" in Persian. Fâtemiyun means "followers of Fatima," a reference to the Prophet Muhammad's daughter Fatima.
The unit is best known for fighting on the side of Bashar al-Assad's government in the Syrian civil war. A similar unit made up of Pakistani Shias is the Zaynabiyoun Brigade. The U.S. Treasury sanctioned both units on the same day and on the same grounds.
How does it work?
According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the Fatemiyoun is an all-Afghan unit recruited by the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC). HRW notes that about 2.5 million Afghans lived in Iran in 2015, many of them undocumented. The group says volunteers were offered incentives such as legal residency and a path to citizenship for their families.
The U.S. Treasury said in 2019 that the unit coerced undocumented Afghan migrants in Iran into fighting in Syria "under threat of arrest or deportation." It reported that former fighters were made to choose between prison, deportation or "volunteering" to go to Syria. According to the same statement, recruits received little training before being sent to the front lines.
Why does it matter?
The Fatemiyoun is the best-known example of Iran using units of foreign fighters in regional conflicts. The unit still appears in the Persian press, especially in reports on security incidents in border areas such as Sistan-Baluchestan. The legal status of Afghan migrants in Iran and the country's deportation campaigns are also debated in connection with it.
Debates
The most serious allegation concerns the use of children in combat. HRW documented at least 14 Afghan children, aged 14 to 17, who died fighting in Syria. The group notes that using children under 15 in hostilities is a war crime under international law. The U.S. Treasury also said several hundred Fatemiyoun fighters had died in Syria, including children as young as 14.
On January 24, 2019, the United States sanctioned the Fatemiyoun Division for providing material support to the Quds Force. Iran describes the unit as a volunteer force formed to defend Shia holy sites.
