"When Sipho Dlamini stepped off a plane from Russia, returning home to the South African port city of Durban last week, he carried nothing but the clothes on his back. They made us burn everything we had, the 32-year-old said. Clothes, documents, even family photos. From the start, it was hell."
"Dlamini is one of more than a dozen South Africans repatriated from Russia, where they say they were lured under false pretences and thrust onto the front lines of the war in Ukraine mirroring the experience of other African men from countries including Kenya and Zimbabwe."
"In November last year, it came to light that several South Africans aged between 20 and 39 had been sent to Russia for what they believed would be security training. But soon after, they were conscripted into a paramilitary group and sent to fight in Ukraine."
More than a dozen South Africans have been repatriated from Russia after being lured under false pretenses and forced to fight in Ukraine. Recruits believed they were traveling for security training or VIP bodyguard positions but were instead conscripted into paramilitary groups. The recruitment drive, allegedly led by Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma, primarily targeted men from the Nkandla region in KwaZulu-Natal province. Similar cases involved African men from Kenya and Zimbabwe. President Cyril Ramaphosa intervened with Vladimir Putin to secure their return. Returnees face fears of reprisals and potential prosecution under South African law prohibiting citizens from fighting in foreign conflicts. African soldiers reported experiencing worse treatment than other combatants on the front lines.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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