Why and for what are Azerbaijani citizens fighting in Syria?

In recent days, Azerbaijani media and social networks on the Internet spread messages and videos on the participation of citizens of Azerbaijan in military action against the regime of Bashar Assad in Syria.

Some sites have reported hundreds of citizens of Azerbaijan fighting in Syria against the government of this country.

Commenting on these reports for Turan, the head of the mosque Abu Bakr (Salafi belief) closed in 2008, Gamet Suleymanov did not name the exact number of Azerbaijani citizens fighting in Syria.

"There are some radical ideas that are supported not only in Syria but also in other parts of the world. At the same time, we can not say that all the people fighting in Syria are radicals. While some of them are radicals, others went to Syria for the sake of revenge or assistance," said Suleymanov.

Recall that on August 17, 2008 there was an attempt to assassinate Suleymanov when a grenade was thrown into the mosque. As a result, three people were killed and about 20, including Suleymanov, were injured.

It is difficult to identify the system of sending Azerbaijanis to Syria, he said.

"Some of them are making contacts over the Internet. However, there are some forces that support radical ideas and encourage sending those wishing to Syria.

Those who do not want to go there are called "infidels" and condemned. That is, there is propaganda," said Suleymanov.

Azerbaijani students of the International Islamic University of Medina oppose sending Azerbaijani citizens to wars in other countries

"We say that sending to Syria is a mistake. Generally it was a mistake to start the conflict in Syria," said Suleymanov.

In turn, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Elman Abdullayev told Turan, that it is necessary to obtain confirmation that the people killed in Syria were citizens of Azerbaijan.

"The situation is tense in Syria and the Azerbaijani embassy moved in Lebanon. Despite all these difficulties, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry seeks to investigate these issues," said Abdullayev.

The head of the Public Relations of the Ministry of National Security Arif Babaev asked to comment on reports of the involvement of Azerbaijani citizens in the war in Syria, said the MNS is taking "all necessary proactive measures to curb potential threats to national interests and security of Azerbaijan and controls the operational situation."   -03B06-