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Turkmenistan Ranked Least Vulnerable To Terrorism

By Azamat Batyrov December 12, 2018

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Twenty-six countries, including Turkmenistan, were given a score of “0” meaning no impact from terrorism has been recorded and there is a very low likelihood of a terrorist incident occurring in the foreseeable future.

When you think of Turkmenistan, don’t think about terrorism.

That is because the Caspian region country has been ranked as the least likely to be hit by a terrorist incident, account to the 2018 edition of the Global Terrorism Index published by the Institute for Economics and Peace. The report is based on data from the U.S. National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) housed at the University of Maryland.

Iraq topped the list, receiving a score of 9.7 out of 10, where zero represents no impact from terrorism and 10 represents the highest measurable impact. The country has recorded over 4,271 deaths due to terrorism in 2017 according to the report. The worst attack that year happened Mogadishu, Somalia, however, on November 14 when a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden truck, killing at least 588 people.

Twenty-six countries, including Turkmenistan, were given a score of “0” meaning no impact from terrorism has been recorded and there is a very low likelihood of a terrorist incident occurring in the foreseeable future.

Out of 138 places, Russia came in at number 34, with 5.2 points. In 2017, Russia suffered from 47 fatalities due to terrorism. It is the highest out of any country in the Caspian region. Iran ranked 44th, Kazakhstan 75th, and Azerbaijan came in at number 98.

GTI’s indices are relative indicators of four different criteria, including the number of terrorist incidents, the dead and other casualties, as well as the level of property damage. In addition, while compiling the index a range of other indicators that may be indirectly related to terrorist activity was analyzed.

Considered the second largest country in Central Asia, Turkmenistan is nearing six million people. Although no official data is available that provides information about the level of religious adherence by Turkmenistan’s population, the majority is known to identify with Islam. The relationship between the state and religious groups is regulated by the country’s council for religious affairs.

Despite the territorial proximity to Afghanistan, the predominantly Turkic nation, in terms of ethnicity, is considered least affected by religious radicals, and to date there have not been any reported illegal actions related to religiously motivated terrorism. Some say the reason for this is cultural, claiming that the Turkmen people have never been persuaded by radical movements. But others argue that avoiding radicalism is a result of strict state control by the central government.

According to Turkmenistani law, religious institutions and associations are required to register with state authorities. Their activities are strictly regulated, while activities of unregistered associations are prohibited and prosecuted.

Turkmenistan’s government closely collaborates with international organizations aside from the United Nations, including the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism, in order to strengthen its counterterrorism efforts and border security. In 2015, the government in Ashgabat announced a large-scale mobilization of its reserve military forces, aimed at hedging any threat by IS forces gathering in neighboring Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, hundreds of citizens of Turkmenistan have been reported to join the conflict in the Middle East.

According to the report issued in 2016 by the International Center for the Study of Radicalization and Political Violence (ICSR), the overall number of participants from Turkmenistan in all factions of the Syrian conflict has amounted to 360. Little or no concrete information is available about how many Turkmenistani citizens served in the ranks of IS, and these numbers have been questioned by the Turkmen government, which has denied the participation of any of its citizens in the Syrian conflict.