East Turkistan Islamic Movement Fighters Relocated to Afghanistan to Fight China

Kokcha News Agency: The report, published on [Day of the week removed as it is after today’s date], states that Abdul Haq al-Turkistani, the leader of the group, also known as the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP), warned before the fall of Damascus that “Chinese infidels will soon taste what the Syrian infidels tasted, God willing.”

The report adds that when Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, led by Ahmad Shara, entered Damascus after an 11-day offensive, Uyghur, Central Asian, and Caucasian fighters were alongside them and played an important role in defeating the Assad regime.

About 1,100 Uyghurs were killed in the conflict. The Uyghurs, mainly from the Xinjiang region of China, had gone to Syria through Turkey and Southeast Asia since 2012 and 2013, and most of them had gathered in Idlib.

It is estimated that about 15,000 Uyghurs are present in Syria, of whom 3,500 have now joined Brigade 84 of the Syrian Army.

The Diplomat writes that these fighters intend to return to Xinjiang one day and resume the separatist struggle to create “East Turkistan.” Because crossing China’s heavily guarded borders is difficult, they are likely to establish new bases in Afghanistan and Central Asia and target China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative.

Presence of 500 to 1,200 ETIM Fighters in Afghanistan

According to a February 2025 UN report, there are between 500 and 1,200 ETIM fighters in Afghanistan, and the Taliban have kept them under control. However, this number could increase rapidly if more fighters flow from Syria.

Reports indicate that some of these fighters, along with Central Asian terrorists, have been transferred from Syria to the Panjshir Valley, while also establishing joint bases with other networks in the provinces of Balkh, Badakhshan, Kunduz, Kabul, and Baghlan.

The Diplomat magazine writes that the Taliban have used ETIM fighters in northern Afghanistan to counter the influence of ISIS-Khorasan (ISKP).

ISIS is trying to recruit fighters from the group and has even created a team called the “Uyghur Team.”

Experts warn that if the Taliban relax its strict control over the ETIM, disgruntled members of the group may join ISIS.

The Diplomat report continues that, due to the ETIM’s extensive ties with the Taliban, al-Qaeda, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Jamaat Ansarullah, and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), the group has become a major security threat in Afghanistan and the entire region.

Their combat experience in Syria is also attractive to terrorist networks in the region. The UN has reported that the group has launched new campaigns to recruit people of various nationalities in Afghanistan and is seeking to expand its activities to Central Asia.

In June 2025, the Syrian government forced the group to declare its dissolution, and President Ahmad Shara said: “I sympathize with the Uyghurs, but their fight with China is not our fight.” However, the lack of transparent monitoring has made this move more of a spectacle.

In March, the ETIM released a new charter and renamed itself the “East Turkistan Islamic Party,” refocusing on Xinjiang.

Analysts warn that the new Syrian government is very fragile and does not have the real ability to deal with the group, and that under pressure, members of the group may join ISIS.

According to the report’s author, the only effective way to contain the group is to impose international sanctions and relist the East Turkistan Islamic Party as a foreign terrorist organization.

The United States recently placed the Balochistan Liberation Army on such a list to enlist China’s cooperation in the fight against terrorism.