This still image from a Mainichi Shimbun video shows young men thought to be Afghans shake hands with a military-looking man, rear, by the front entrance to a Tehran athletic facility and assembly point for Afghan refugees recruited to fight in Syria, on July 27, 2017. (Mainichi, image partially modified)

TEHRAN, Iran -- The Mainichi Shimbun has filmed a scene that appears to show Iran assembling Afghan refugees living in its territory to send them to fight in the Syrian civil war.

Based on testimonies provided by those dispatched to Syria in the past, the Mainichi Shimbun twice confirmed Afghan refugees being assembled on the outskirts of Tehran.

Some news organizations have reported testimonies by those who have been deployed to Syria in the past, but it is rare for a media outlet to capture video footage of such scenes.

Iran has taken the official position that it is not directly involved in the conflict in Syria, against the backdrop of the complex situation of the Middle East. However, Iran backs Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, and it has emerged that Iran is engaged in the organized and continuous deployment of Afghan refugee militiamen to Syria to fight the Islamic State (IS) group.

Some have testified that there are many casualties among the refugees deployed to Syria. Iran could come under fire from the international community for endangering the lives of refugees, which must be protected under the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and other rules.

An Afghan refugee in his 30s, who was interviewed by the Mainichi Shimbun in March and July this year, said he joined refugee troops in 2014 after learning of their existence through word-of-mouth.

He participated in military training by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps loyal to the Iranian administration alongside other refugees, and learned how to use automatic weapons, and perform other military tasks. After the training ended, he and other refugees were summoned and sent to Syria.

The man, who is a Shiite, was told that he was supposed to participate in a mission to guard the Shrine of Sayidda Zeinab in Damascus, which is a holy site for Shiites.

In actual fact, however, he and other refugees fought on the front lines in various areas of Syria, and many of the refugees died from gunfire and other causes.

The man explained that before refugees are dispatched to Syria, they are assembled in an athletic facility near Haram-e Motahhar subway station on the outskirts of Tehran. They are usually summoned on Tuesdays and Thursdays every week.

A Mainichi reporter visited the site early on the morning of Tuesday, July 25 to see if refugees were being assembled there.

Soldiers with automatic weapons hanging from their shoulders were standing at the scene, located near the Mausoleum of Khomeini, a tourist spot, and Behesht-e Zahra, the largest cemetery in Iran.

When the reporter approached the site, a man who appeared to be an official of the regime yelled out "Hey Mister!" in an apparent warning.

Two days later, young people could be seen gathering on a street near the facility early in the morning. Among them was a man who appeared to be in his 20s. When asked whether he was a member of a Fatemiyon, an Afghan militia, he said he was. Fatemiyon is said to have been named after Fatimah al-Zuhra, the daughter of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. The man pointed at the facility where Afghan refugees were being assembled and said he was going there. Two military-looking men subsequently appeared and shook hands with the young men before going into the facility.

According to the man, Afghan refugees are divided into separate groups and briefed about their activities on battlefields inside the facility. He said refugees participating in battles in Syria fly out from Imam Khomeini International Airport, located about 30 kilometers southwest of the site, on civilian flights.

The refugees dispatched to Syria are allowed to cross the Iran-Syria border as long as they have special documents issued by the Iranian authorities, even if they do not have passports. They are typically paid some 30 million rial a month, or roughly 83,000 yen at time of the Mainichi's interview. In some cases, refugees were reportedly told that they would not be deported to Afghanistan when they were recruited to fight in Syria.

There have been Afghan refugees since the Soviet Union's invasion of the country in 1979. Some Western news organizations have quoted refugees as saying that they were deployed to Syria to fight against IS.

When asked whether Iran sends refugees to Syria as soldiers, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, who was in Japan last month, said, "As far as I know, there are some Shia fighters who are from Afghanistan going to Syria to defend actually the sites of Shia and to fight terrorist elements fighting in Syria. But whether they are going from inside Iran or from Afghanistan itself I don't know."

The head of the Center for Contemporary Islamic Studies in Japan has underscored the significance of a Mainichi report confirming the scene where Afghan refugees were summoned to participate in combat in Syria.

"It is difficult to gather news on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and most coverage by Western media outlets on the deployment of Afghan refugees as soldiers is based on quotes from the refugees," center head Osamu Miyata said. "The latest report is extremely rare in that it covers the scene in which refugees are summoned."

"It's significant in that the report has proven that refugees are systematically and continually dispatched, just like mercenary soldiers," he added.

Miyata also pointed out that the Iranian authorities' reliance on Afghan refugees as soldiers to fight in Syria could spark protests from the international community.

"If the Iranian government were to have its people participate in combat and many of them were to be killed, it could spark protests in the country and shake up the regime. That's why Iran has deployed refugees. However, the practice has raised problems from a humanitarian perspective and could violate the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, which stipulates protective measures for refugees, if the refugees are threatened or forced to join the deployed troops," Miyata said. "Iran can't escape international criticism." (By Ryuji Tanaka, Special Reports Group)