SUMMARY
Jondullah (also spelled Jondollah or Jundallah), literally meaning Soldiers (or Army) of God, is a militant organisation primarily operating in Iran’s south-eastern Sistan and Baluchestan Province bordering Pakistan and the south-western part of Afghanistan. The group is also known as People’s Resistance Movement of Iran (PRMI).
The group emerged in 2003 and the declared goals of the militant outfit are to protect the human rights, culture and faith of the ethnic Baloch people against the government of Iran. The group’s leadership has however denied any separatist intentions. Jondullah’s claims are in line with a widespread perception among the population in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, and, as a matter of fact also in neighbouring Pakistan’s Balochistan province, of being a nation without a state. Sistan and Baluchestan Province is Iran’s second-largest province and has a population of about 2.5 million. The majority of the Baloch people are living in the southern, western and eastern parts of the province. Unlike the majority of the Iranian population and the state institutions, which are dominated by Shia Islam, the Baloch mostly adhere to Sunni Islam. Among Iran’s provinces, Sistan and Baluchestan Province is the least developed; a factor that further contributes to the tensions between the Baloch and the government in Teheran.
In recent years, Jondullah has carried out numerous terrorist attacks against the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and representatives of the Iranian government. In 2005, Jondullah undertook an assassination attempt against Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when Jondullah militants and ambushed his convoy while on a visit to Baluchestan. Further, Jondullah has a history of targeting civilians. In its struggle, the group relies on various terrorist tactics, such as suicide bombings, ambushes and kidnapping as well as targeted assassinations. It is estimated that the group comprises between 1000 and 2000 well-trained fighters. The fact that the group appears to be well funded has caused speculations over external support. The Iranian government has in the past accused the governments of the U.S., Britain, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan of supporting the group with the intention of destabilising the situation in Iran. However, since November 2010, Jondullah is officially listed as a terrorist organisation by the U.S. Department of State. The links between the Iranian-based Jondullah and a movement in western Pakistan with the same name are unclear. There have also been rumours about ties with the Pakistani Taleban, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Al Qaeda. Jondullah’s leadership has however denied allegations regarding external support. In addition to possible external support, Jondullah most likely extracts funds from drugs trade as Sistan and Baluchestan Province is part of a major smuggling route from Pakistan and Afghanistan to Europe.
The founder of the group was Abdul Malik Rigi, also known as Emir Abdul Malik Baloch. He served as the group’s leader until February 2010, when he was captured by Iranian security forces. The circumstances of Rigi’s arrest remain unclear – there are reports indicating that he was captured during an operation in eastern Iran while other sources state he was arrested during a flight from Dubai to Kyrgyzstan. Rigi was executed on 20 June 2010. After the capture of Rigi, Muhammad Dhahir Baloch became the new leader of Jondullah. The death of Rigi caused the group to fragment. Several new groups were formed by former Jondullah members, the largest of which was Jaish al-Adl.
Jondullah has been involved in the intrastate and one-sided categories of UCDP organised violence.
