In the first case of its type, a former Dutch soldier has been discovered in a secret Syrian training camp preparing new jihadist recruits to fight, and most likely die, opposing the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
The fighter, whose face was fully visible during an interview for the TV current affairs programme Nieuwsuur, was named only as "Yilmaz" – and said he had decided to leave the army in 2012 after watching the people of Syria die in their thousands without any international intervention.
“If the Netherlands had been willing to send its own troops to try to stop the slaughter, I would have been the first to volunteer and to fight alongside my former colleagues – but nobody has done anything and I cannot live that way.”
Approached
As it was, Yilmaz, a heavily bearded Muslim in his 30s, described how he was approached by acquaintances who knew of his army background.
He subsequently resigned less than two months before his first promotion from the basic rank of soldier, second class.
“They told me that 90 percent of the recruits who came to Syria had never fired a single bullet, much less been on a battlefield. But they were fighting for a noble cause. They wanted me to give them some tips and tools, so that when it came to a firefight they would know what they were doing.
“People are being slaughtered here every day and yet nobody does anything. So when jihadists come to fight for the oppressed Syrian people why is that a problem? I feel sorry for those people who just sit at home and watch. How can you be sitting at home?”
Calm, rational, open and speaking impeccable English – the very opposite of the fanatical caricature – Yilmaz was filmed for the programme training the masked newcomers while still wearing his old Dutch army fatigues, complete with name tag, now topped with a jihadist beret.
Masks
He said what he missed most was his family – although he chatted with them regularly on Skype.
Asked why the recruits he was training wore masks, he said it was to avoid “negative consequences” for their families at home in their native countries if they were identified.
As regards suggestions by security services that he and other jihadists he trained might return to Europe traumatised and ready to attack their native countries, he replied: “No. I came here for Syria and for Syria only.”
He added: “That’s not the mentality of most of the people who come here. Most people come here prepared to die. Going back home is not part of my perspective. The Netherlands, Europe . . . that’s all a closed chapter for me now.”
