Thread by @GIRD_S

1/ #German magazine .@DerSPIEGEL reports rising number of #xrw foreign fighters (2,500 now) joining Asow militia in #Ukraine to fight agst #Russia in current print issue.

2/ It is also reported Asow militia actively recruited openly during largest German #xrw concert in #Themar in July 2017. This shows how much underestimated the threat of #xrw foreign fighters compared to #jihadists is. Imagine outcry if #ISIS would openly recruit at a concert.

3/ And the issue is not new. German and other European #neonazis have for example fought in HOS militia in #Bosnian civil war. See this remarkable article featuring interviews with some of them. bit.ly/2yQrL8k

4/ German authorities saw a visible militarization of the extreme right during early 90s and some warned of foreign fighters threat but widespread measures didn't follow. Some reports claim numbers up to 1000s in these years bit.ly/2yqxT32

4/ One of them later rose to leading #NPD party ranks in Berlin, even though his mercenary past is well known bit.ly/2megCZ9

5/ We can go back even further. In early 1970s prominent #German #neonazis fought with the Fedajin agst #Jordanians, got arrested and were bought free. Then arrested again. Helped BLACK September to conduct Olympia terror attack in #Munich bit.ly/2ysg97D

6/ One group (Wehsportgruppe Hoffmann) was even running a guerilla training camp in #Lebanon together with #Fatah in early 1980s bit.ly/2hjEq8M

7/ Point is: the extreme right after WWII has long engaged in foreign fighter activities. Some returnees have been involved in #terrorism. Some rose to political leadership positions. No significant research on or attention given to #xrw foreign fighters though.

8/ Follow up: the initial Spiegel piece about #xrw #foreignfighters with #Asow in #Ukraine is now online: spon.de/ae6su