AFGHAN WARS
During the 19th and early 20th centuries there were three wars between
Afghanistani fighters and British forces in India. The origin of the wars lay in
the weakness of the Afghan state. The nation had become independent in the
mid-18th century, but local chieftains attempted to establish their own power
against the government. The British, who were consolidating their hold on India,
wanted a strong Afghanistan between Persia and Russia.
The first Afghan War (1839-42) started when the ruler of Afghanistan,
Dost Mohammad Khan, refused to make an alliance with the British. The British
invaded the country and restored a former king, Shah Shoja', to the throne.
Local uprisings throughout the country eventually drove the British out, and
Dost Mohammad returned as ruler in 1843.
The second Afghan War (1878-80) was prompted by the refusal of
Afghanistan's ruler, Shir 'Ali Khan, to accept a British mission in the capital
of Kabul, when he had already accepted a Russian mission. The British armies
again invaded. Shir 'Ali fled, leaving his son, Ya'qub Khan, as regent. He made
peace on British terms in May 1879, but the murder of the British envoy in Kabul
a few months later caused a renewal of hostilities. The British occupied Kabul,
and Ya'qub Khan was forced to abdicate.
In July 1880 the British recognized 'Abdor Rahman Khan, grandson of Dost
Mohammad, as ruler at Kabul. The British then helped 'Abdor Rahman fend off an
attempt by Ayub Khan, the brother of Ya'qub Khan, to take over the government.
British forces evacuated Afghanistan in 1880, and 'Abdor Rahman was able to
establish peace and a strong central government. The British controlled foreign
affairs, however, until 1919, when the third Afghan War established full Afghan
independence.
President Jimmy Carter supported Afghanistan's right of self-government.
Worried that the Soviets would cut off oil supply lines in the Persian Gulf,
Carter cut off trade with the Soviet Union. The United States also boycotted the
1980 summer Olympic Games, which were held in Moscow. Congress did not permit
American soldiers to fight Soviets in Afghanistan, but it did vote to send
massive amounts of military aid to support the guerrillas, known as the
mujahideen, who were fighting the Soviet-backed government of Afghanistan.
Following nine years of occupation, the Soviet Union completed its
withdrawal of Afghanistan on Feb. 15, 1989. Approximately 15,000 Soviet troops
had been killed in fighting with Afghan rebels. The regime of Soviet-backed
President Muhammad Najibullah did not fall, however, after the Soviet troops
left, and internal power struggles continued in Afghanistan. A rebel
government-in-exile in Pakistan was recognized by a number of countries,
including the United States and Saudi Arabia, in March 1989. Later in the year,
the United Nations called on the Afghan government and the rebels to negotiate a
coalition government. Former government and military officials formed the
National Salvation Society, which called for an end to United States and Soviet
intervention in Afghanistan.
Despite these overtures toward peace, 1990 saw continued fighting between
the government of Najibullah and the mujahideen guerrillas. The United States
and Soviet Union suggested elections be held in Afghanistan, yet both countries
continued to arm their respective sides in the ongoing struggle to establish a
single, lasting government in Afghanistan.
After
the fall of Soviet supprorted regime of Najibullah, another civil broke out
among the different factions/Mujahideen organization of Afghanistan over the
division of Power. After sme years of fighting, eight
rival military factions in Afghanistan met in Islamabad, Pakistan, to sign a
peace plan for their war-torn country. The plan was mediated by the prime
minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif. The accord provided that the president of
Afghanistan, Burhanuddin Rabbani, and Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar would
remain in office and share power for 18 months. Then free elections would be
held. Although the Communist regime in Afghanistan had been overthrown in April
1992, several military factions had continued to struggle for power. The country
was worn out by 14 years of civil war, a war that had created at least 3.8
million refugees. A cease-fire was finally arranged in May and the new
government started functioning in June. A new constitution was adopted in
September.
Oct.
13, 1994: Civil war casualties in Afghanistan.
After three weeks of fighting between rival Muslim factions in Kabul, Afghanistan, more than 1,000 people had been killed and 17,000 injured. The conflict started as a disagreement between two factions of Shi'ite Muslims, but it quickly spread to draw in other factions. Struggles for power had been going on for about two years in Afghanistan's capital, after the Russian pullout. Refugees fleeing the area numbered in the tens of thousands.
Sept.-Dec.,
1996: Civil war in Afghanistan.
Two weeks after the fall of Jalalabad, the Taliban captured Kabul.
Government troops, who had attempted to slow the advancing Taliban army by
conducting bombing campaigns against the city of Jalalabad, put up little
resistance to the Taliban, choosing instead to seek a safe haven in the
mountainous region in the northeast of the country. One of the first actions
carried out by the triumphant Taliban was the execution of Mohammad Najibullah.
In 1992 a coalition of Islamic parties had ousted the Communist government of
Najibullah who had gradually lost his grip on power after the demise of his
primary political backer--the Soviet Union. Taliban members invaded a United
Nations compound in Kabul, where he had been living under political asylum since
the time of his ouster. Najibullah was shot and hanged in a public square.
Having routed the government forces in Kabul, the Taliban set about
making good on their promise of establishing a strict Islamic state. Harsh
penalties were ordered for those who violated Islamic rule, and many were
publicly punished by flogging or, in extreme cases, execution. Human rights
advocates in the West expressed grave concern over the Taliban's harsh treatment
of Afghan women, who were prevented from going to their jobs and were ordered to
leave their houses only with husbands or male relatives. Women who ignored a
government edict requiring all women to dress in the traditional burka, a loose,
veiled garment that leaves only the eyes exposed, were subject to punishment.
The Taliban attempted to use the momentum generated by the capture of Kabul to deal a decisive blow to the fleeing government forces in the northeastern region. The northern region of Afghanistan, which was heavily populated with ethnic minorities, had historically been a region of bitter racial animosity governed by tribal allegiances. Facing the threat of a common enemy, three former enemies joined forces to announce the creation of a military union designed to halt the Taliban offensive. Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum, Ahmad Shah Massoud, and Abdul Karim Khalily forged the alliance to integrate the forces of the three largest ethnic minorities of northern Afghanistan: Uzbeks, led by General Dostum, Tajiks, led by Massoud, and Hazaras, led by Khalily. The alliance controlled the ten unconquered provinces and each member of the alliance viewed a united front as the only means of stopping the Taliban advance. In the first days of the union, they launched decisive counterattacks against the advancing Taliban guerrillas. After weeks of rapid, virtually unopposed victories, the Taliban showed signs of buckling in the face of the staunch defense. The success of the anti-Taliban forces seemed to eliminate the possibility of a quick resolution to the conflict. The two sides began to solidify their holdings and settled into the continuation of the most recent chapter in a long and bloody civil war.
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