Islamic Groups: Intensified Activity to Recruit Students to Fight in Chechnya [Archives:2000/16/Front Page]

Several students have reported to Yemen Times that they have been asked to join an Islamic Jihad group and travel to Chechnya to participate in the holy Islamic rebel fight against the so-called “Russian occupation” of the Islamic republic of Chechnya.
Similar requests and offers were made to young Yemenis in mosques in a confidential manner. They said the Islam is calling us for Jihad, and that they will sponsor our travel and living expenses once they arrived in Chechnya.
Yemen Times’ informed political sources have this week disclosed that some groups of Islamic factions in Yemen are carrying out wide-scale campaign among university students to persuade them volunteer for fighting in Chechnya in return for tempting sums of money.
The sources told Yemen Times that those Islamic groups had taken students to some remote mountainous areas to listen to lectures and sermons about sacredness of Jihad as a religious duty. They added that many students were not able to sit for examinations because of their being busy in this matter. The sources have further mentioned that a long list of names of these Mujahideen is in possession of these groups who offer them a monthly salary of US $500 in addition to housing, clothes and food.
More than 200 Yemeni Mujahideen had earlier went to Chechnya, some of whom got killed and others wounded and brought back Yemen amidst strict official secrecy. Some other 30 Mujahideen had also gone to Pakistan to get military training before leaving to fight in Chechnya. One of them was wounded while trying to infiltrate into Afghanistan. Some reliable sources have confirmed that these groups receive direct help from Bin Laden who transfers millions of dollars to their account to help them be able to carry out their activity. One of 28 Yemeni Mujahideens was arrested in Jordan after the discovery of his involvement in such activity.
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